Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Plan to keep Raiders in Oakland goes before city and county leaders today

Oakland Raiders

Pat Sullivan / AP

Oakland Raiders fans Griz Jones, left, and Ray Perez make their case for keeping the NFL football team in Oakland outside the hotel where NFL owners are meeting Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016, in Houston to discuss possible relocation to Los Angeles.

OAKLAND — City and county officials today are expected to vote on a proposal by NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott and his investment group to rebuild the Coliseum and keep the Raiders in Oakland. Then, if approved, the real work begins.

Key questions would be sorted out during an exclusive negotiating phase with Lott's team: Will the land be leased or sold? How will the $200 million in public bond money be repaid? Is team owner Mark Davis even interested in the proposed $1.3 billion development in Oakland?

With Davis' sights set on Las Vegas, Oakland leaders are hoping to have a detailed proposal to present to NFL owners who have the final say on the team's move, and are expected to vote early next year.

To rebuild infrastructure at the aging Coliseum site, the framework deal before the City Council and Alameda County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday proposes to use $200 million in bond money that will have no impact on the city's general fund, officials said.

A $100 million bond would be guaranteed by the Raiders through a new "possessory interest tax," which is the equivalent of a property tax, said Oakland Assistant City Administrator Claudio Cappio.

Lott and money management firm Fortress Investment have pledged another $100 million bond to be paid back by a new Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District, Cappio said. The district, similar to a redevelopment district, would allow the government entities to use tax money from the site, such as sales, utility and parking taxes, to pay off the bond.

"These are site-specific taxes," said Cappio, who has led the initial negotiations. "It's a typical tool cities use to enhance and revitalize an area."

Still up in the air is whether the 105 acres that encompass the Coliseum site — appraised recently at $150 million — will be sold or leased to the Lott group. A lease of 99 years is possible; voters in November approved a measure to increase the maximum lease term on city-owned property from 66 to 99 years.

Bryan Parker, a former Port of Oakland commissioner and mayoral candidate, said he's worried about a $50 million to $100 million funding gap, which is supposed to be covered by stadium naming rights or personal seat licenses.

"I think they saw what a disaster seat licenses were (when the Raiders returned from Los Angeles in 1995)," Parker said, adding, "if we miss this, there could be a shortfall. The backstop would be our general fund. If the deal is structured the right way, it should never come to that, but the public should know that's the last stop on the train."

The proposal states that the city and county are responsible for repaying $103 million in outstanding debt at the Coliseum and $81 million in outstanding debt at Oracle Arena, both from previous renovations. But it's unclear how the debt would be paid off.

"A year or so ago, the city drew a line in the sand that the deal had to have some mechanism for paying off the existing debt. This does not have that," said Roger Noll, professor of economics emeritus at Stanford, who has followed the stadium saga. After reading the term sheet Monday, Noll said it was light on details.

"If you were to go to the NFL with this as the only piece of paper you have, they would not even discuss it with you," Noll said. "They'd laugh you out of the room because there's nothing concrete."

Three-quarters of NFL owners must back the move to Las Vegas. In Nevada, lawmakers have approved $750 million in hotel taxes for the estimated $1.9 billion stadium, along with $650 million from casino mogul Sheldon Adelson.

While no renderings have been released of the new 55,000-seat stadium proposed for Oakland, the proposal lays out a basic footprint of the Coliseum land. The stadium and parking lot would cover 55 acres on the site's south side closer to Hegenberger Road. Construction of the stadium is estimated at $700 million, according to a county report.

Sources in Oakland said the $1.3 billion Coliseum development would be financed with $200 million each from the city and the NFL, $300 million from the Raiders and the rest from Lott's investment group.

Across the lot on the north side, near 66th Avenue, 15 acres are set aside for a baseball stadium if the A's choose to stay on the site, as well as more parking. There would be 25 acres of commercial and retail buildings, hotels and possible residential units where the Coliseum stadium sits today.

Oracle Arena, covering approximately 10 acres, is not part of the development and would remain unless the Warriors make good on their move to San Francisco and the city and county no longer want to hold non-basketball events there.

Lott is expected to attend Tuesday's City Council meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m. The Alameda County supervisors meet at 11 a.m.

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