Post by TheShadow on Oct 23, 2005 9:31:23 GMT -5
www.sacbee.com/
Team's record, PSL situation make for a marketing nightmare.
By Paul Gutierrez -- Bee Staff Writer
ALAMEDA - These are not exactly the happiest of days, or nights, around the Raiders' compound.
Despite the hype surrounding the offseason additions of receiver Randy Moss and running back LaMont Jordan to the offense, the 1-4 Raiders are off to their worst start since 1996, when they also lost four of their first five, on their way to a 7-9 season.
And after selling out their first two home games of the season - announced crowds of 62,273 took in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and 62,400 saw a victory over the Dallas Cowboys - the Raiders had but 52,666 show up to watch a rival in San Diego and arguably the most exciting tailback in the game in the Chargers' LaDainian Tomlinson.
Today's game against the milquetoast Buffalo Bills and big-talking back Willis McGahee, who this week proclaimed himself the best running back in the game, will mark the second consecutive non-sellout. It will also be the 56th time in 84 games since the team returned to the East Bay from Los Angeles in 1995 that a home contest will be blacked out.
These are not exactly the gloomiest of times, either, the silver and black-clad optimist will tell you.
Because while the team's struggling couldn't have come at a worse time - the 10-year personal seat licenses, or PSLs, expire at the conclusion of the season and with the Raiders' ship seemingly listing, what is there to get excited about for next season? - the expiration of PSLs affords for more "creative" planning, for next year and beyond.
Plus, the Nov. 13 home game against the Denver Broncos is expected to sell out.
Another piece of the puzzle: with the Raiders' lease at the Coliseum lasting just five more years, discussions have reportedly already included issuing new five-year PSLs at a 75 percent cost of the original PSLs. Why five years? Because really, who knows where the Raiders will be playing in 2011 - Oakland? Sacramento? Irwindale? Hollywood Park? Barstow? There has also been speculation that PSLs, which were created to help repay the $201 million in bonds backed by Oakland and Alameda County to pay for renovations to the Coliseum, could be eliminated altogether this go-round.
And while some fans would no doubt rejoice at the death of PSLs, what about those who plunked down so much cash for the right to buy season tickets in the afterglow of the team announcing its return to its ancestral home? Wouldn't they feel slighted, that all they had to do was wait out the Raiders for 10 years? Especially with a shortage of sellouts, a bushel of blackouts and tickets available on game day.
After all, while the Raiders have as rabid a fan base as any in the NFL, one that turns every Sunday into Halloween on Hegenberger, it's a relatively small hard-core constituency. Consider: only about 46 percent of the renovated stadium's 63,132 seats are paid for with PSLs attached.
It's a massive challenge, and the marketing savvy of all involved is being tested. Weary fans, who are already frustrated by this season's shortcomings, are increasingly leery, if letters to the editor, voice mails, talk radio and the like are an indication.
"It's very important we take care of the PSL holders," said Raiders CEO Amy Trask. "We're very cognizant of the sacrifices they made. "We do value the commitment made by those people when we relocated."
As such, a new marketing plan, which would presumably outline the future of PSLs, is expected to be unveiled within "the next 30 days, 45 days," said Ignacio De La Fuente, president of the Oakland City Council and co-chair of the Joint Powers Authority, the agency chaired by the civic governments and Raiders appointees to oversee Coliseum operations.
"I'm not at liberty to tell what the exact nature of the discussions are, but we are encouraged. We believe the fans will be happiest when this happens."
The fans, no doubt, would be ecstatic if the Raiders could reverse their fortunes on the field.
Since Jan. 19, 2003, when the Raiders beat the Tennessee Titans in the AFC championship game to secure a spot in Super Bowl XXXVII, Oakland is 10-28, including that 48-21 Super Sunday spanking administered by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and former coach Jon Gruden.
Winning games, De La Fuente said, would be a good tonic for any lingering acrimony.
Gail Steele, a two-time former president of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors and vice president of the JPA, agreed, though she said the marketing strategy meetings between the Raiders and civic entities were akin to "a United Nations summit" because of the diametric differences of opinion expressed, though they all want essentially the same thing - peace of mind.
Steele took in the Raiders-Chargers game last week and was taken aback by how placid the crowd was that afternoon.
"The fans have such a bad reputation and there have been some bad things; too much alcohol is a bad thing, and some people don't like the bad language," she said. "But it was mellow enough that I actually took a look.
"Any team in any city, when the team is down, the fans don't like it. The fans are frustrated with not winning, but every game is a new hope. It's like playing the lottery."
The Raiders hope they have the golden ticket, and their front office is burning as much midnight oil, if not more, in trying to come up with an acceptable marketing plan and product than the X's and O's guys downstairs who are trying to win games, deadline of 45 days or not.
"It's more important that we get this correct than expeditiously; quick isn't always correct," Trask said. "We want a plan that addresses the interests of the PSL holders, the Raider Nation, the Raider organization as a whole, the city and the county."