Post by TheShadow on Aug 10, 2005 17:00:06 GMT -5
www.insidebayarea.com
THE Oakland Raiders, officials from Oakland and Alameda County, and the team's fans should have learned one thing during their hot-and-cold relationship of the past 10 years: Loyalty — uninhibited allegiance to something — doesn't come cheaply, but ultimately is priceless.
It involves reciprocity, the mutual giving and getting of something perceived as being of worth and comparable value. If one party doesn't give or get anything in return, it's going to get less-than-enthusiastic loyalty from other parties to the pact.
The folks who have a right to feel shortchanged in this triangle are taxpayers who got stuck with the bill for the team's return and those loyal fans who, in a moment of Raiders rapture, put hard-earned cash on the line to bring the team back by buying Personal Seat Licenses.
The momentary euphoria soon wore off for many who had eagerly anticipated the team's return. Among them were those diehard fans who invested $250 to $4,000 (per seat) in PSLs, only to discover that they were paying twice for seats that others could buy on game day by sauntering up to a ticket window.
And folks less interested in the Raiders soon became upset when they discovered that the money behind the $225 million deal ($85 million for stadium renovation, $32 million to the team and $10 million for its facility in Alameda) would come out of their pockets. Thus far, taxpayers have ponied up $191.3 million and still have $182.3 million to pay.
Which brings us to ask: How do we keep the team here? And, how do we heal the wounds between the team, public officials, fans and taxpayers? Two things are basic:
-For the Raiders to commit to staying in Oakland indefinitely — well beyond the five years left on the initial agreement. Owner Al Davis may want to get out of the deal and become the only NFL show in Los Angeles, or elsewhere, but it does nothing to help relations with the bird in hand.
-For PSLs, for which the team and the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority once again wants fans to cough up cash, to become permanent (lifetime) possessions of those who buy them rather than being limited to five or 10 years. Parents and grandparents must be able to pass them on to the next generations as part of their estates.
That's the way it's done elsewhere and how it should have been done here initially. As Max Muhleman, the marketing executive who birthed PSLs, has said, "The concept works when it is done right. The problem was it wasn't done right in Oakland."
All of which necessitates C-O-O-P-E-R-A-T-I-O-N between the team and its city/county landlords. Legal, business and personal differences must be buried so that bonds with the team's fan base can be rebuilt and broadened to fill the McAfee Coliseum for every home game.
Sellouts are the way to end TV blackouts. And the best way to do that is to treat fans right. Let them know you value their loyalty and want them back. It can happen with the proper mix of inducements and appreciation.
Currently, 29,500 PSLs are owned. The peak was 35,000 in 1995. That means more than 5,000 folks have forfeited them. And nothing has been done to erase the dissatisfaction that fiasco created. Fans want a say in the next deal — and you can't blame them.
Argus columnist Monte Poole has suggested that the Raiders spend more time, effort and money rebuilding rapport with the community and revive the idea of creating a Raiders Hall of Fame in Oakland. Such gestures would help. And the magic word in competitive sports — W-I-N — heals a lot of wounds.
But staying in Oakland and making the sale of PSLs permanent would be the biggest — and easiest — mea culpa. The Raiders and the Coliseum Authority need to make that commitment to loyal but disillusioned fans before they give their hearts, souls and hard-earned bucks back to the Silver & Black.
