Oakland Coliseum City planning gets go ahead from city council

A major step in the efforts to keep the Raiders in Oakland occurred Tuesday evening. The city council voted yes to the proposal by the Bay Investment Group to extend the planning period for the Coliseum City development project.

The planning period extension period was important because the project has gained two big investors in recent months which changes brings the $2 billion dollar project closer to a reality.

The previous proposal which had plans drawn up over the past year would have required public subsidy which was a big sticking point because there isn't a lot of public funds available for such an ambitious project and the taxpayers are hesitant to foot the bill.

The Raiders are a key tenant in the project but Bay Investment Group will be asking for all three sports teams to sign a letter saying they are on board by as late as April. This would allow an additional six months to tailor plans according to whether they will be including facilities for the Raiders, A's, and Warriors or just one or two of those franchises.

There is an outside chance they could receive no opt-in letter from any of the teams as all three have shown some interest in moving elsewhere in recent years. The extension could backfire in that regard because they have extra time to work out their respective playing destinations. But the yes vote had to happen to give the best and perhaps only chance of the Raiders and/or the Warriors and A's to remain in Oakland so it is still a monumental step in the efforts.

Raiders super fan Dr Death was on hand to deliver a speech to convince the city council to vote yes on the proposal. Here is video of that speech.

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