ESPN Reports Raiders Trying to Sell More Stake in the Team

by 67MARQUEZ on Jan 4, 2009 11:39 AM PST Comment 11 comments

Here's the link, with these as the key items:

The Oakland Raiders, through owner Al Davis and Raiders chief executive Amy Trask, are negotiating to sell off another percentage of the team, this time to a billionaire who has been trying to buy a franchise with designs on moving it to Los Angeles, according to league sources.

Metropoulos had been identified previously by the Philadelphia Daily News last offseason as an aggressive buyer with a desire to relocate a franchise to Los Angeles. He has publicly denied his reported attempts, but sources confirm their veracity.

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I just read that

On one hand it looks like a move by Al to raise some more cash for off season moves like last year. And on the other hand, it looks like possible positioning for another move to LA. After all, with the economy and all, stadium hopes in Oakland (and for that matter any assistance from the NFL) look to be very, very bleak.

Your team is your child...You love it no matter what.

by TheRaiderWay on Jan 4, 2009 11:45 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Guys

Bacon beat you to this

Wack To Mack With The General and The Back. (J-Mac and D-Mac)

by Rayder K on Jan 4, 2009 11:50 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Yep, just caught that...thanks

I'm here to talk about the past.

by 67MARQUEZ on Jan 4, 2009 12:27 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Raiders

I don’t think they’re going to move to Los Angeles. It seems like every year we hear a rumor about a team moving there. I’m not buying it yet.

The Ultimate Opportunist

by Rated-R Superstar on Jan 4, 2009 11:49 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Raiders deny story

This from PFT quoting Amy Trask.

RAIDERS DENY REPORT OF POSSIBLE SALE
Posted by Mike Florio on January 4, 2009, 5:13 p.m.

The Oakland Raiders deny a report from ESPN’s Chris Mortensen that owner Al Davis and Chief Executive Amy Trask are negotiating a potential sale of the team to C. Dean Metropoulos, a billionaire from Philadelphia who reportedly hopes to buy a team and move it to Los Angeles.

Per Mortensen, the Raiders are talking to Metropoulos about purchasing a piece of the team, and that Metropoulos is angling for a path to obtain controlling interest within three to five years.

"Chris’ report is not true," Trask told the Associated Press. "We are not negotiating with this group. We know who they are and that they want to purchase the controlling interest in a team.

"This team is not available to them. They are unhappy about that and have turned to Chris to assist them in their efforts, which is easy to do since Chris contacted no one with the Raiders to ascertain if there was any truth to his report. There is not. It would have been so easy for him to contact us and ask if we are negotiating with this group. We are not."

Mortensen defended his decision not to contact the Raiders for a comment before publishing the report on ESPN’s SportsCenter and Sunday NFL Countdown.

"The Raiders have lost the privilege with me of running stories past them for comment," Mortensen said. "This stems from their history of denials to most stories I have reported – as well as others in the media – when those stories have eventually proven to be true. The latest example is I reported that Al Davis planned to interview Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride and, of course, the story was trashed by a team spokesman."

Your team is your child...You love it no matter what.

by TheRaiderWay on Jan 4, 2009 3:07 PM PST reply actions 0 recs