Despite Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf’s assertions that the city of Oakland has found answers to all the NFLs questions about the Oakland site, Roger Goodell says otherwise.
The primary areas of concern Schaaf hoped to have addressed satisfactorily was the presence of the A’s on the coliseum site and the funding provided by Fortress Investments Group which has committed $600 million to the project along with cost overruns.
A letter sent to the commissioner Friday, which included details attempting to clear up these and other concerns from the NFL was slapped down in a response letter from Goodell later on Friday parts of which were published by the East Bay Times Saturday.
“We have been prepared for nearly two years to work on finding a solution based on access to land at a certain cost, without constraints on the location of the stadium or timing of construction, and clarity on the overall development,” Goodell wrote.
“However, at this date, there remains no certainty regarding how the site will be fully developed, or the specific and contractually-defined nature of the participation by Fortress or other parties. In addition, the long-term nature of the commitment to the A’s remains a significant complication and the resolution of that issue remains unknown.”
“Despite all of these efforts, ours and yours, we have not yet identified a viable solution,” Goodell said. “It is disappointing to me and our clubs to have come to that conclusion.”
That final sentence is about as bleak a forecast as one can imagine with regard to Oakland’s hopes to keep the league owners from approving the Raiders for relocation.
Having already received this rejection letter from Goodell, Schaaf appeared at a presentation in Oakland Saturday in which she said pointedly that she was “calling bullshit” on the assertion that their recent plans carry the same issues as old ones.
Meanwhile Ronnie Lott and Rodney Peete are at the owners meeting trying to convince owners who may be on the fence about this issue to side with Oakland.
They need 9 owners on their side and based on Goodell’s words, it’s hard to see a positive outcome for Oakland.
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