OAKLAND, Calif. — The mayor of Oakland announced Tuesday she has the framework of an agreement to keep the Oakland Raiders in town despite talk by the club’s owner to move the team to Las Vegas.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf declined to disclose details of the deal reached with an investors group led by former 49er football star Ronnie Lott. But she said the group can commit enough money upfront for a new stadium.
The Bay Area city has struggled to find a way to keep the pro football team without putting too much financial burden on taxpayers. Schaaf said she is in favor of using public money to upgrade infrastructure around the stadium in hopes of spurring economic development.
Raiders’ owner Mark Davis has said he’d prefer to move the team to Las Vegas, where he is pursuing a $1.9 billion public-private stadium project off the Las Vegas strip. He and the Raiders are not part of the framework deal announced by Schaaf.
Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval has said he trusts that Davis is committed to Las Vegas.
“I trust Mark Davis,” Sandoval said Tuesday. “I take him at his word. I will continue to monitor the process established by the NFL.”
Schaaf said her job is to develop a proposal that “will, at least, give us the ability to compete to keep the Raiders in their home.”
Alameda County supervisors and Oakland city councilmembers will consider the framework in private.
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