NFL in Oakland? It’ll take a Hail Mary
If the football gods have an ounce of fairness, they will see to it that Oakland gets an NFL team. Oakland’s loyal fans saw their Raiders leave twice. Now there is talk the city might get another shot, via an expansion team or a relocated franchise.
What sayeth the gods of the gridiron to that idea? Well, they didn’t return our phone calls, but at least one group of investors seeking to buy half of the Coliseum site believes it has a shot at landing an NFL team.
But if an Oakland team ever springs into existence, it should be called the Miracles, because that’s what it will take for that dream to become reality.
Among the five or six groups of investors bidding to buy the city of Oakland’s half share in the Coliseum site (the A’s own the other half, and also are bidding) is a local group that has an NFL dream. The African American Sports and Entertainment Group says
its bid for half the Coliseum site is not dependent on landing an NFL team, but such a coup would sweeten its bid for the property.
A competing investor group led by former A’s righthander Dave Stewart says it will not court the NFL, seeing such a pursuit as wasteful, but Stewart says his group will build a ballpark for the A’s if the team’s Howard Terminal plans fall through.
Both groups have serious interest in bringing a WNBA team to the Oakland Arena, and both claim the WNBA has indicated interest in placing an expansion or relocation team in Oakland.
First, let’s address the issue of bringing the NFL back to town. How likely is it that the league will expand by one or two teams and choose Oakland, or that an existing team will move to the East Bay?
Since its 1970 merger with the AFL, the NFL has added six expansion teams, starting with Seattle and Tampa Bay in 1976, then Carolina and Jacksonville in 1995. The league added the Cleveland Browns in 1999 to replace that city’s departed team, and added Houston in 2002, also to replace a departed team.
AASEG believes it has a chance to land an NFL team.
“We’re communicating” with the NFL, said Ray Bobbitt, Oakland businessman and a leader of the AASEG group. “We’re going through the expansion application process . ... Our contact there is an executive vice president, so our communication is pretty highlevel.”
Although there has been no buzz about NFL expansion and many believe it unlikely, AASEG’s bid might get the league’s attention. It would be the NFL’s first Blackowned team, a good look for a league in whichmost players are Black. And the league insists that it is open to expansion and is taking applications.
When Bobbitt was asked whether there’s any suspicion that the NFL is playing his group, using the ongoing dialogue to make the league look woke, he said, “I don’t think so. I think they’re actually serious about this market.”
He added, “I don’t think people expected (the NFL) to have open dialogue with us. But I think they really like our group, and I think it’s probably time, and there are a lot of people who are calling them on our behalf, so we’re definitely having more success than most would think.”
Without supplying details, Bobbitt indicated that his group has information from outside official NFL sources that indicates Oakland has a shot at an NFL team. Bobbitt said his group has plenty of money, but to land an NFL team, it might need a waiver of the requirement that one person own 30% of the team. The group also has pitched to the NFL the idea of a Green Bay ownership model, in which the team is owned by fans. Get those piggy banks ready, Oaklanders!
Bobbitt said AASEG’s master plan is adjustable, but regardless of what happens with the NFL, the group likely would build a stadium at least big enough for soccer.
Among those ready to throw cold water on AASEG’s NFL dream is Stewart. AASEG has reached out to Stewart’s group, suggesting they combine forces. Stewart’s group declined, and says it is not interested in exploring the NFL option.
“Every NFL player I know, and I know a lot of them, says it’s not likely that the NFL is going to expand or come back to Oakland,” Stewart said, adding that chasing an NFL dream would tie up a chunk of the Coliseum site that could be put to better use.
AASEG’s plan “is to build a football facility, and that’s land that could be used for more work opportunities, more jobs, more businesses and more housing in East Oakland,” Stewart said. “If the A’s aren’t there, in my opinion, there’s no reason to have a facility for baseball or football.”
Whatever group buys the city’s 50% will share the site with the A’s. Both expressed a strong desire to create a working relationship with the MLB team.
“My main concern is that Oakland keeps the A’s,” Stewart said, adding, “In my conversations with the city council members ... I told them if the A’s were forced to go back to the Coliseum, we would build a facility for them. They wouldn’t even have to go into their pockets.”
The NFL responded to queries about its interaction with AASEG by saying via email, “We were contacted by the group and provided information about the expansion and relocation processes. We will decline further comment.”
Amy Trask, an NFL analyst for CBS Sports and the Raiders’ chief executive under owner Al Davis until 2013, sees no indication of NFL expansion in the near future.
“As I would define ‘near future,’ I don’t think there’s a tremendous likelihood of expansion,” Trask said. “If you had asked me that when I was still in the league, I would have laughed and said, ‘Not for a very, very, very long time, if ever.’
“Now, given the expansion of broadcast rights and an entire new level of revenue from gambling, there have been tremendous changes economically in the league. So I’m no longer saying never, but I also don’t think it’s going to be soon.”
Trask pointed out another factor: The 49ers probably would not be too keen on an NFL team in Oakland.
“The 49ers were tremendous business partners to us during my years in the league,” Trask said. “That said, none of the 32 teams want to see another team come into its marketplace.”
The 49ers have only one vote of 32, but Trask noted league politics come into play. Owners voting to expand to Oakland might open themselves to future invasions of their turfs. Yet, expansion means more money in the pockets of existing owners.
“One thing I will underscore,” Trask said, “is that the Bay Area is a very, very large market . ... I think the Oakland Coliseum is tremendous. The market is tremendous. I think it’s one of the best sites in the league, if not the best, in terms of being served by public transportation. BART takes you essentially to your seat.”
BART also takes you to the Coliseum Arena, where a WNBA franchise would play its home games if either sports group gets its wish. Both groups say they have had productive and encouraging talks with the WNBA.
The WNBA last expanded in 2006 and ’08, with franchises in Chicago and Atlanta. Sacramento had a team that folded in 2009; the league tried unsuccessfully to find a new owner in the Bay Area. Now the WNBA has at least two viable suitors.
All either group needs is the money to buy half the Coliseum land — and a bulldozer to plow though the red tape.