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Where will the 2019 Raiders call 'home'?

Not surprisingly, things got even more messy between the Raiders and their soon-to-be-former home yesterday. The City Attorney of Oakland, California, along with several private attorneys from two law firms, officially filed an Anti-Trust lawsuit against the Raiders, Mark Davis, the NFL and all 31 other team owners.

It alleges Breach of Contract and Anti-Trust violations. It claims the move to Vegas is 'illegal' and the Raiders owe at least $150M for the 'Mt. Davis' stadium debt the JPA assumed when the Raiders came back to Oakland from LA in 1995.

It's essentially a duplicate of the lawsuit that St. Louis has filed against the NFL for the Rams move. Both lawsuits are seeking *hundreds of millions* if not *billions* in judgments. They are very broad and will take years, if not decades, to litigate.

So don't expect this to be resolved anytime soon.

One important point. This will not have any effect on the Vegas stadium or impending move. This is not about keeping the name, brand and colors in Oakland. They will all go to Vegas as planned. But it does have an immediate effect in that the Raiders don't currently have a lease to play anywhere in 2019.

Mark Davis has said publicly that he won't play in Oakland if he is being sued. Well now they are being sued. And the Raiders need to find a place to play in 2019. And rather quickly. Let's take a look at the realistic options.

Las Vegas Sam Boyd Silver Bowl

The Chargers are playing in a soccer stadium, why couldn't the Raiders just move to Vegas now? Play at Sam Boyd for a year, build up the fan base. Makes sense, right? It's been reported the facility cannot support NFL minimum requirements, specifically TV/Replay, locker rooms, and security. It's been reported it could cost something on the order of at least $50M to bring it up to a minimum spec. The problem with that is the new stadium contract *requires* Sam Boyd to be demolished as soon as the new stadium is up and running. Any moneys paid to allow the Raiders to play there for one year would be literally thrown in the garbage. The NFL has already decided this is not an option.

Levis Stadium

Levis Stadium was built for two teams and is 30 miles from their HQ. It makes a ton of sense. It's been rumored it would cost Mark Davis around $1M per game in rent. Expensive. But it's a turnkey solution. They would literally have to change nothing else. HQ and training facilities stay the same and the 'commute' to the game would be 20 mins more than it is now, maybe closer for some. They Yorks have said they are open to sharing, per their NFL loan agreement. The NFL would prefer this solution, as it doesn't require a move, an owners vote, or effect any other markets. Mark Davis has said multiple times he doesn't like the stadium or want to play there, but the NFL will have the final say and this is by far the best Non-Oakland one-year solution.

ATT Park (SF Giants stadium)

This stadium has all the modern amenities and has hosted XFL and college bowl games in the past. This is actually closer than Levis and more accessible on public transportation from the East Bay. The stadium is more/less dormant after the baseball season is over and the Raiders could essentially move in similar to how they did at the Coli. The NFL could modify the Raider schedule to play mostly road games at the beginning of the season to not effect the Giants too much. It would be less expensive in rent than Levis and would not have the stigma of being attached to the 49ers. Makes a ton of sense and would be a pretty interesting destination for one season. Again, they wouldn't have to change training facilities or HQ.

Stanford/Cal/San Jose

If the other two options aren't workable, there are 3 very viable college football stadiums within 30 miles. Each of them have issues, mostly with parking, tailgating, etc but the Raiders are going to have to compromise due to the circumstances. Maybe they can split between all three during the seasons? The benefit here again is its fairly turnkey and they would not have to move their HQ and training facilities..

Los Angeles

Could the Raiders go back to the LA Coliseum for one year? The Rose Bowl? Either one would certainly sellout and would really help build up the SoCal market for the Vegas Stadium. You know Mark Davis would be thrilled with this option, but the NFL would likely not. *Any* relocation will require the owners to vote and there are many that don't ever want to see the Raiders play in LA as the home team. In this scenario, the Raiders could practice in Oakland and take the one hour flight to LA to play games. They did this in the 80's when they first moved to LA. It's inconvenient and not ideal, but it's doable. It would be awesome and certainly a big deal for LA and the Raiders. But the NFL owners, not so much.

San Diego

SD is more intriguing than LA is. They have an NFL stadium wide open and available. It's relatively 'turn-key'. There are plenty of Raider fans in SoCal - it would likely sellout or close to it. Mark could keep the HQ in Oakland and fly down for the 'home games'. One huge problem, SD is probably going to sue the NFL too. The NFL just allowed the Chargers to move and said that stadium is not 'viable' and now they allow the Raiders to play there? Hmm. Plus the owners have already shown they will do everything possible to protect Dean Spanos and Stan Kroenke's market and allowing the Raiders to play home games down there is viewed as damaging to that market for them. Can you imagine the LA Chargers playing at the San Diego Raiders??? Won't happen.

San Antonio

Mark Davis went to SA during his city tour and its a very intriguing option. The Alamo Dome is NFL ready, the Saints played a few games in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, and the city would probably require only a very cheap rent. There are plenty of NFL fans down there that would just be interested to going to games. Three big problems. Jerry Jones, the Houston Texans, and its a 3.5HR flight from Oakland. Once again, it will take an NFL owners vote and that is going to be very difficult if Jerry is opposed and he will be. The flight to go down there for home games would be brutal and the idea of moving the entire operation to San Antonio and everything that entails (players would have to move as well) for just one year doesn't seem realistic.

Oakland

Mark is pissed. He has said no way to Oakland if they sue. But the problem is he's kind of stuck. And despite all the fluff, the Oakland Coliseum is the cheapest and easiest option. There is a lease sitting on the JPA's desk already signed by the Raiders. The yearly rent has been reported to be around $3-5M which is cheap. The Raiders have played there while being sued by the city in the 80's so this is nothing new. Once Mark calms down and realizes the suit was inevitable and this is going to take years if not decades to resolve, he will realize the Coli is still the best option. Allow the fans to have one last year in Oakland. A proper 'fair well'. This is still the #1 best option for the Raiders. Once cooler heads prevail, this could and should be their home for one last year before moving down to the Palace in the Desert.

Addendum

There is one potential issue that should be brought up. The Vegas Stadium is going up like gangbusters and according to people in charge of its construction, its 100% on schedule. But that schedule is *very tight*, and there is always potential for a future setback that could delay the opening.

The Raiders should and are looking for a one year lease in 2019 combined with a one year option for 2020. To cover themselves in the case that the new stadium is delayed for whatever reason. This could narrow the options. To me this contingency just makes the Oakland Coli location even more obvious as the best option. Mark would have to bite his tongue and eat a bit of crow, but the pending lease has the necessary option for year 2 if need be.