NFL Merry-Go-Round: Relocation Roundelay

[bosrs1]

Meanwhile San Antonio has an NFL ready stadium that's nicer than the one he's stuck in currently. And in a league where the owners really can't block a team's movement all that easily and a league where the locations of the teams doesn't really matter due to the national TV deals. This move seems very possible. And more than likely given that he has nothing to gain by threatening Oakland, unless his goal is to drive Raiders attendance even lower than it already is in dead last.

The Alamodome isn't NFL-ready, nor is it all that nice. This is just more of your wishcasting because you hate Oakland/the East Bay.

What makes you think I hate Oakland or the east bay? I've been an A's fan for a quarter century now and I lived in the east bay for quite some time, you really think I'd bother with either if I hated the east bay? I just hate the Raiders. And it's hardly wish casting. The Alamodome has just as many amenities an NFL team would ask for as the Coliseum does (but please feel free to let us know what you think it lacks). And it does so while being football specific, 30 years younger, and wouldn't have to be shared with the A's or their baseball diamond for half the season. And most importantly its in a city in a state that still has money it would be willing to part with to help out a poor little NFL franchise like the Raiders. Oakland has been broke for years and won't be able to fill the Raiders $500-$700 million dollar funding gap on Coliseum City. The city knows it, Davis knows it, and most fans who pay attention know it. There will never be a new football stadium in Oakland. And if Davis doesn't want to share Levis stadium there's few other options for him.

I was under the impression that the Alamodome is functionally the Edward Jones Dome South. Yeah the base structure is 30 years newer that the Oakland stadium, but that still means it doesn't have nearly the level of amenities and luxury box seating that NFL stadia are expected to have. It's a spec building, and it shows.

True, but the Edward Jones Dome South is still far superior to Oakland's stadium. And it would only be a temporary measure until SA got a new stadium built.

[rams80]

And it would only be a temporary measure until SA got a new stadium built.

OK, that's perilously close to Archimedes territory.

[bosrs1]

And it would only be a temporary measure until SA got a new stadium built.

OK, that's perilously close to Archimedes territory.

Don't blame me, blame Mark Davis and SA's mayor.

[DarkJourney]

Mark Davis' best friend: I'm dead serious too:

[FiddySicks]

I'll say this much. If there was ever a team out there that could pull off a move to a random market like San Antonio and not have it shock the hell outta me, it's the Raiders. That seems like such a Raiders thing to do.

It'd be a real shame to see California lose a team with as much history as the Raiders, though. If they were to ever actually leave the Bay Area, I'd hope it's to a market like Sacramento or Portland. If the Bay Area has to lose the Raiders, it'd soften the blow just a bit if they were to stay on the west coast.

[Saint Zephyr III]

The whole development would be supremely surprising if the Raiders came to San Antonio, but the circumstances are at least plausible. The advantage San Antonio has over Los Angeles seems to be just a matter of cost but, considering the financial situation for the Raiders, it may very well come down to that. San Antonio would definitely pony up to renovate the Alamodome since it would not only entice an NFL team, but it would bring consideration for the Final Four, an NCAA championship, a more prestigious venue for the Alamo Bowl, and a number of other events that have slowly dropped out through the years.

I'd have to wonder where they'd play if the Alamodome wouldn't be ready...up in Austin you'd think?

Again, I see this as a 1% chance of happening, not to mention it would end up with some delightfully odd divisional alignments.

[Evil G]

It's likely just bluffing, so I'm not going to take this seriously for now.

[DustDevil61]

The whole development would be supremely surprising if the Raiders came to San Antonio, but the circumstances are at least plausible. The advantage San Antonio has over Los Angeles seems to be just a matter of cost but, considering the financial situation for the Raiders, it may very well come down to that. San Antonio would definitely pony up to renovate the Alamodome since it would not only entice an NFL team, but it would bring consideration for the Final Four, an NCAA championship, a more prestigious venue for the Alamo Bowl, and a number of other events that have slowly dropped out through the years.

I'd have to wonder where they'd play if the Alamodome wouldn't be ready...up in Austin you'd think?

Again, I see this as a 1% chance of happening, not to mention it would end up with some delightfully odd divisional alignments.

Not holding my breath here, either. That's mainly because moving to Los Angeles would be far more beneficial, right away and long-term. It would also be hard to imagine Mark Davis not selling a 51% or so stake (to AEG/Roski) and profiting in some part from an LA-based NFL team.

Of course, stranger things have happened (most folks probably didn't envision an NFL team in Nashville or anything besides maybe the NHL in Oklahoma City in the 1980s), but right now I'm still convinced that if the Raiders actually move anywhere outside of the Bay, it's (back to) Los Angeles. They may flirt with San Antonio, maybe also places like Portland or Sacramento (to claim that they're "committed to Nor Cal" or something like that), but it would be such an uphill battle in any of those places that Los Angeles still manages to stand out as the biggest threat.

But hey, if the Raiders end up calling San Antonio home, they'd fit right at home with their color scheme.

[gosioux76]

I keep seeing Portland mentioned as a relocation option for the Raiders, not just in this forum, but in some of the news stories about the San Antonio speculation? How did this ever come to be? I can't ever envision a scenario in which an NFL team would work in Portland.

[dfwabel]

The whole development would be supremely surprising if the Raiders came to San Antonio, but the circumstances are at least plausible. The advantage San Antonio has over Los Angeles seems to be just a matter of cost but, considering the financial situation for the Raiders, it may very well come down to that. San Antonio would definitely pony up to renovate the Alamodome since it would not only entice an NFL team, but it would bring consideration for the Final Four, an NCAA championship, a more prestigious venue for the Alamo Bowl, and a number of other events that have slowly dropped out through the years.

I'd have to wonder where they'd play if the Alamodome wouldn't be ready...up in Austin you'd think?

Again, I see this as a 1% chance of happening, not to mention it would end up with some delightfully odd divisional alignments.

Not holding my breath here, either. That's mainly because moving to Los Angeles would be far more beneficial, right away and long-term. It would also be hard to imagine Mark Davis not selling a 51% or so stake (to AEG/Roski) and profiting in some part from an LA-based NFL team.

For the record, the Davis family only owns ~47% of the team, because Al sold 20% in 2007.

[bosrs1]

The whole development would be supremely surprising if the Raiders came to San Antonio, but the circumstances are at least plausible. The advantage San Antonio has over Los Angeles seems to be just a matter of cost but, considering the financial situation for the Raiders, it may very well come down to that. San Antonio would definitely pony up to renovate the Alamodome since it would not only entice an NFL team, but it would bring consideration for the Final Four, an NCAA championship, a more prestigious venue for the Alamo Bowl, and a number of other events that have slowly dropped out through the years.

I'd have to wonder where they'd play if the Alamodome wouldn't be ready...up in Austin you'd think?

Again, I see this as a 1% chance of happening, not to mention it would end up with some delightfully odd divisional alignments.

Not holding my breath here, either. That's mainly because moving to Los Angeles would be far more beneficial, right away and long-term. It would also be hard to imagine Mark Davis not selling a 51% or so stake (to AEG/Roski) and profiting in some part from an LA-based NFL team.

Of course, stranger things have happened (most folks probably didn't envision an NFL team in Nashville or anything besides maybe the NHL in Oklahoma City in the 1980s), but right now I'm still convinced that if the Raiders actually move anywhere outside of the Bay, it's (back to) Los Angeles. They may flirt with San Antonio, maybe also places like Portland or Sacramento (to claim that they're "committed to Nor Cal" or something like that), but it would be such an uphill battle in any of those places that Los Angeles still manages to stand out as the biggest threat.

But hey, if the Raiders end up calling San Antonio home, they'd fit right at home with their color scheme.

Davis doesn't own a 51% stake to sell to AEG. He's not even a majority shareholder anymore. He's only the largest single shareholder.

[Evil G]

I keep seeing Portland mentioned as a relocation option for the Raiders, not just in this forum, but in some of the news stories about the San Antonio speculation? How did this ever come to be? I can't ever envision a scenario in which an NFL team would work in Portland.

Why not? Portland is a growing city with no fall sports (other than maybe Oregon but I think that's far enough). The Seahawks are the only problem I see, yet I feel like Portland is big enough to have it's own identity without Seattle.

[Needschat]

Portland Raiders? Never going to happen. I don't understand why people constantly bring up the city when franchise relocation is at hand. The NFL, MLB, and NHL. There's no stadium large enough right now for a team.

[cajunaggie08]

This may be a stretch, but lets say you combine San Antonio (#36 TV Market, 906,210 TV Homes) and Austin (#40 TV Market, 733,390 TV Homes) when considering a potential San Antonio team. That combined TV market is larger than half of the combined San Fran-Oakland-San Jose market (2,518,900 TV Homes) which is being generous when saying the Raiders pull in half of that market.. Austin is 80 miles from the Alamodome with the I-35 corridor quickly becoming less and less rural. Austin is already considered part of the Spurs TV market when it comes to NBA broadcast rights. While it is no match for the potential financial benefits of owning an LA team, a San Antonio team isn't as crazy as it sounds if it is possible to have people try out the local team in favor of the Cowboys. Plus with the Raiders being an AFC team, fans on the fence about abandoning the Cowboys might be willing to support a 2nd team since they would only go head to head once every 4 years.

Ultimately I see the Raiders staying in the bay area, but I can see how a potential central texas team could work. Texas' population is still growing very rapidly.

[Evil G]

Portland Raiders? Never going to happen. I don't understand why people constantly bring up the city when franchise relocation is at hand. The NFL, MLB, and NHL. There's no stadium large enough right now for a team.

First off, that's your 666th post lol.

Second, I honestly think it's either the Bay or LA for the Raiders, but I was stating Portland as a general area, not specifically the Raiders. I'm assuming that Portland could be willing to build a new stadium but I don't live there so I don't know. Except for the NHL, where the Moda Center is right there.

[rams80]

This may be a stretch, but lets say you combine San Antonio (#36 TV Market, 906,210 TV Homes) and Austin (#40 TV Market, 733,390 TV Homes) when considering a potential San Antonio team. That combined TV market is larger than half of the combined San Fran-Oakland-San Jose market (2,518,900 TV Homes) which is being generous when saying the Raiders pull in half of that market.. Austin is 80 miles from the Alamodome with the I-35 corridor quickly becoming less and less rural. Austin is already considered part of the Spurs TV market when it comes to NBA broadcast rights. While it is no match for the potential financial benefits of owning an LA team, a San Antonio team isn't as crazy as it sounds if it is possible to have people try out the local team in favor of the Cowboys. Plus with the Raiders being an AFC team, fans on the fence about abandoning the Cowboys might be willing to support a 2nd team since they would only go head to head once every 4 years.

Ultimately I see the Raiders staying in the bay area, but I can see how a potential central texas team could work. Texas' population is still growing very rapidly.

You're not just up against the Cowboys though, you're also up against the Texans and Team Bevo. And some Aggies too.

[cajunaggie08]

Even as a big Texans fan, I can admit that there aren't many Texans fans outside of the Houston area.

[Gothamite]

Meanwhile, in Buffalo, the Sabres owner put in a bid of $1.2 billion for the Bills.

http://m.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2014/07/30/more-bids-for-buffalo-bills-are-possible.html

So far, that reportedly puts him ahead of Jon Bon Jovi and his Toronto backers.

[The_Admiral]

I like Pegula and what he's doing for Buffalo and Western New York, but he made his fortune in fracking, and I'm opposed to tap water that catches fire. Maybe philanthropy/buying woebegone local sports teams is his way of getting over the guilt.

[Gothamite]

Ugh. I didn't know that.