Post by TheShadow on Jun 1, 2009 17:37:56 GMT -5
www.insidebayarea.com/
By Monte Poole
Oakland Tribune columnist
THE ONLY ABSOLUTE about a sports team seeking a new home is the presence of anger. There will be shouting and shrieking and maybe even wielded pitchforks.
So we should understand any apparently deaf ear turned by the owner on the prowl — especially when prowling is necessary to assure franchise survival.
Though neither the Raiders nor the 49ers will go broke without a new stadium, neither is positioned to stay with the rest of the NFL. Oakland's Coliseum and San Francisco's Candlestick Park are ornery old beasts whose greatest assets are that they already exist.
Handed the 49ers by a father who lacked the stomach or aptitude to promote their growth, Jed York may have found a way out.
Not just for his team, but also for the Raiders.
The 49ers have identified a new home and it is Santa Clara. The team and the city last week reached an acceptable financial agreement. There are mountains to climb and oceans to swim, but the new home is an election away from being visible on the horizon.
If the 49ers can't yet smell the new suites, they are close enough for the Raiders to follow along to see where this leads. It may be Raiders boss Al Davis' only chance to get the stadium he has sought since the 1970s.
Santa Clara is an unlikely Raiders home for 100 reasons, the most significant being that it's not Oakland. It sits on the northern edge of San Jose, roughly 40 miles south of Oaktown.
Santa Clara has no emotional connection with the team's hallowed past and no affiliation with its reputation. Putting the Raiders in Santa Clara seems, on the surface, like spilling grease in the lotion.
Some, of course, will not like this.
But no result pleases all. Some 49ers fans will groan about leaving San Francisco, others can't wait to leave Candlestick. Some Raiders fans will bark about leaving Oakland, others won't miss the Coliseum. Santa Clarans can bicker now and forever.
But the owner's obligation — recognized by the realistic fan — is to remove sentiment from the equation and replace it with the necessities of running a successful business, which, in the end, is what both want.
The Raiders' lease at the Coliseum is up after the 2010 season, after which they have three options. Davis, who turns 80 next month, can agree to a short-tern extension, which seems almost certain. Or he can agree to a long-term extension, which would be seen as a lifetime commitment to a place he gripes about. Or he can move elsewhere, putting his team in another lackluster facility while pondering his next move.
The first and most reasonable option would keep open the Santa Clara alternative. It's not ideal for Al, because he wouldn't be getting a place of his own. It's not ideal for his fans, because it's not Oakland or even Alameda County.
Some, of course, will not like this.
But in these dreary economic times, Santa Clara — or any other Bay Area city making itself available — would be too logical for the Raiders to ignore. The league endorses a Niners/Raiders shared stadium. The Giants and Jets, roommates in New Jersey for 25 years, plan to continue the arrangement when the new place opens in 2010.
"We are exploring — and keeping an open mind with respect to — all opportunities to create a world-class stadium for our fans and our team, and this includes keeping an open mind with respect to a shared stadium,'' longtime Raiders executive Amy Trask told MediaNews on Friday.
This suggests the Raiders are taking a rational, 21st-century approach to their future. They are aware of Oakland's financial bind; the city might lay off cops, for crying out loud. The Raiders also know there is no attractive, realistic alternative sitting by.
The team's stadium revenues, like those of the 49ers in San Francisco, are among the lowest in the NFL. That would change in Santa Clara. So if the Santa Clara option were to become real, the Raiders owe it to themselves and their fans to pursue a partnership.
Some won't like it, we remind you, but I'm sure York could handle it. As for Davis, well, he's used to it.
By Monte Poole
Oakland Tribune columnist
THE ONLY ABSOLUTE about a sports team seeking a new home is the presence of anger. There will be shouting and shrieking and maybe even wielded pitchforks.
So we should understand any apparently deaf ear turned by the owner on the prowl — especially when prowling is necessary to assure franchise survival.
Though neither the Raiders nor the 49ers will go broke without a new stadium, neither is positioned to stay with the rest of the NFL. Oakland's Coliseum and San Francisco's Candlestick Park are ornery old beasts whose greatest assets are that they already exist.
Handed the 49ers by a father who lacked the stomach or aptitude to promote their growth, Jed York may have found a way out.
Not just for his team, but also for the Raiders.
The 49ers have identified a new home and it is Santa Clara. The team and the city last week reached an acceptable financial agreement. There are mountains to climb and oceans to swim, but the new home is an election away from being visible on the horizon.
If the 49ers can't yet smell the new suites, they are close enough for the Raiders to follow along to see where this leads. It may be Raiders boss Al Davis' only chance to get the stadium he has sought since the 1970s.
Santa Clara is an unlikely Raiders home for 100 reasons, the most significant being that it's not Oakland. It sits on the northern edge of San Jose, roughly 40 miles south of Oaktown.
Santa Clara has no emotional connection with the team's hallowed past and no affiliation with its reputation. Putting the Raiders in Santa Clara seems, on the surface, like spilling grease in the lotion.
Some, of course, will not like this.
But no result pleases all. Some 49ers fans will groan about leaving San Francisco, others can't wait to leave Candlestick. Some Raiders fans will bark about leaving Oakland, others won't miss the Coliseum. Santa Clarans can bicker now and forever.
But the owner's obligation — recognized by the realistic fan — is to remove sentiment from the equation and replace it with the necessities of running a successful business, which, in the end, is what both want.
The Raiders' lease at the Coliseum is up after the 2010 season, after which they have three options. Davis, who turns 80 next month, can agree to a short-tern extension, which seems almost certain. Or he can agree to a long-term extension, which would be seen as a lifetime commitment to a place he gripes about. Or he can move elsewhere, putting his team in another lackluster facility while pondering his next move.
The first and most reasonable option would keep open the Santa Clara alternative. It's not ideal for Al, because he wouldn't be getting a place of his own. It's not ideal for his fans, because it's not Oakland or even Alameda County.
Some, of course, will not like this.
But in these dreary economic times, Santa Clara — or any other Bay Area city making itself available — would be too logical for the Raiders to ignore. The league endorses a Niners/Raiders shared stadium. The Giants and Jets, roommates in New Jersey for 25 years, plan to continue the arrangement when the new place opens in 2010.
"We are exploring — and keeping an open mind with respect to — all opportunities to create a world-class stadium for our fans and our team, and this includes keeping an open mind with respect to a shared stadium,'' longtime Raiders executive Amy Trask told MediaNews on Friday.
This suggests the Raiders are taking a rational, 21st-century approach to their future. They are aware of Oakland's financial bind; the city might lay off cops, for crying out loud. The Raiders also know there is no attractive, realistic alternative sitting by.
The team's stadium revenues, like those of the 49ers in San Francisco, are among the lowest in the NFL. That would change in Santa Clara. So if the Santa Clara option were to become real, the Raiders owe it to themselves and their fans to pursue a partnership.
Some won't like it, we remind you, but I'm sure York could handle it. As for Davis, well, he's used to it.