Quote:  As problematic as the 3 owners you mentioned are,   the combination of what Stan Kroenke did to St. Louis AND that he's yet to even have a .500 season since becoming the majority owner of the Rams is why he's at the bottom of the owner's list on this end.   I'm looking at this from a fan perspective,  not someone who can increase franchise value for his/ her own franchise and the other owners.    

 

 From the sound of it,  the Raiders didn't get as much money from the NFL to apply to a stadium in the Oakland area as expected.    Mark Davis truly seems upset.   Unlike Kroenke,  Davis seems genuine.   Oakland or the surrounding area needs to step up relatively soon or the Raiders are going to move in the next couple of years at the latest. 

 

 Dean Spanos'  worst nightmare became a reality today.    I'm still shocked that most of the owners voted for the Inglewood project after the 5-1 recommendation of the LA Relocation Committee.   That secret ballot vote took away most of Spanos'  leverage.   The question now becomes,  can Spanos get a stadium deal outside California that would truly satisfy him?    I have at least some doubts that Spanos wants to leave Southern California.   

From a fan perspective, yeah, Kroenke is up there with Irsay (dad and son) and Modell as the most hated owners in sports. From a purely business standpoint, you can't help but admire how he subjugated the plans of an entire league, overcoming the very loud objections of two of the most respected ownership families in football in the process. He made his purchases brilliantly, he chose his words and moves wisely, and one can't help but think that some variation of, "If you stop me from moving to LA, I have everything I need to make the next ten years of your lives a living hell," came out of his mouth.

 

Mark Davis has come just short of apologizing for the fact that he's going to have to move the team, because he knows he has one of the best fan bases in the NFL, but he also knows that he can't keep playing in the antiquated Coliseum. I would guess that as soon as news of the Raiders' being left behind hit the wire, Davis got a call from the mayor of San Antonio just checking in, seeing how he'd been lately, how's the family, etc. Given that Davis has already ruled out moving the Rams to St. Louis (wouldn't surprise me if that was at the strict instruction of Roger Goodell and/or other owners), his options really do seem limited to Oakland, San Antonio or hoping that he can find a satisfactory route to LA. Realistically speaking, the Raiders got screwed more than anyone else in this deal. The fact that they only (only lol) received $100M in the form of an option to help finance a stadium in Oakland had to be an even bigger slap in the face. Either the NFL has two other cities in mind that it would like to give a team to, or Stan really had the owners bent that far backwards over a barrel.

 

Dean Spanos has been saying for years that he doesn't want the Chargers to leave San Diego, and he's been putting his money where his mouth is trying to find a stadium solution. Initially, I thought the $100M NFL package was just a way to further justify San Diego's move to (insert city here) in a year, now I'm not so sure. A vote for $350M in public funding is actually on the ballot. Between the NFL's $100M and San Diego's $350M, there's a chance something could be done. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think the NFL would be ok with the Chargers staying in SD, just as long as the Raiders don't join the Rams in LA.

 

As to what's next for the Raiders and Chargers, Mark Davis has already left the word "Oakland" out of a very unhappy press release following the Rams' move. I think San Antonio is very much in play for him. The Alamodome is more or less ready to go for an NFL team, the city is absolutely dying to get an NFL franchise in town and the biggest obstacle at this point, if Davis really wants to make it happen, appears to be Jerry Jones' concerns about adding a third team in a relatively small area of Texas.

 

The Chargers are 33.3/33.3/33.3, imo. My wild, uneducated guess would be that they're equally likely to get that $350M and build a suitable stadium that lets them stay in SD, suck it up and arrange a deal with Mad Stan to play in Inglewood or surprise everyone by moving to a different city entirely. It'll be interesting to watch how the next 12 months play out, given that the Raiders and Chargers are both guaranteed to be courting suitors from cities that desperately want to lure an NFL team.

 

Quote:The Raiders will have to get a stadium solution in Oakland if they are unwilling to play at the Inglewood site.

 

Although I did not see any reports the Oakland Athletics were an issue, it is possible that had something to do with it. What do baseball fans want?

Who says it has to be in Oakland? Who gives a rat's [BLEEP] what baseball fans want?

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