Post by TheShadow on Dec 7, 2006 17:42:40 GMT -5
www.sacbee.com/
By Jim Jenkins - Bee Staff Writer
Declaring their legal battles behind them, the Raiders and Alameda County officials said Wednesday they will concentrate on achieving a peaceful solution to the franchise's future in the East Bay.
"It's over," team general counsel Jeff Birren said in response to the Raiders announcing they will not challenge a recent appellate court decision to overturn a 2003 jury verdict awarding them $34 million.
"Now we have a new opportunity to use our time productively," said Gail Steele, chairwoman of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority, the Raiders' stadium landlords.
With the A's prepared to move to Fremont in 2010 or '11 and the Raiders' lease expiring after the 2010 season, Steele, a county supervisor, knows time is limited but is confident of a resolution.
"I believe the Raiders want a lease extension," she said. "I work under deadlines all the time, but we've got the time to get this done."
Birren said there is nothing on the table yet about an extension, "but we will always talk to them about that." He also said upgrading the stadium is a high priority.
The jury award came out of a bitter trial in Sacramento Superior Court, in which the Raiders initially sought $1.1 billion in a suit related to their 1995 move from Los Angeles back to their original city.
Owner Al Davis charged that he had signed a 10-year stadium lease agreement, only to learn home games were not sold out, as allegedly promised by the city and county representatives who brokered the deal.
Davis also took issue with a seating license fee program that increased the price of season tickets and hindered sellouts.
When the Raiders were countersued out of fear they would try to break the lease, the matter ended up in court. After five months of arguments and a parade of witnesses that included former 49ers coach Bill Walsh, Raiders Hall of Fame center Jim Otto and Davis, the jury decided the Raiders deserved only the smaller monetary award for establishing negligence but not fraud.
Three weeks ago, the 3rd Appellate District of the California Court of Appeal overturned the verdict, ruling the Raiders forfeited their right to sue for fraud because they accepted a revised agreement in 1996.
The Raiders elected not to press the case further in the interest of forging a better relationship. The OACC Authority, in turn, will not seek reimbursement of $150,000 in court costs from the Raiders.
Tempers have been cooling for more than a year. In October 2005, the sides called their first truce -- the team took over its ticket operations in 2006 from an embattled outside agency, junked the seating-rights requirement (personal seat licenses) and restructured prices.
As a result, the Raiders, despite a 2-10 record, have sold out five of their first six home games, surpassing the average of sellouts per season in previous years.
By Jim Jenkins - Bee Staff Writer
Declaring their legal battles behind them, the Raiders and Alameda County officials said Wednesday they will concentrate on achieving a peaceful solution to the franchise's future in the East Bay.
"It's over," team general counsel Jeff Birren said in response to the Raiders announcing they will not challenge a recent appellate court decision to overturn a 2003 jury verdict awarding them $34 million.
"Now we have a new opportunity to use our time productively," said Gail Steele, chairwoman of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority, the Raiders' stadium landlords.
With the A's prepared to move to Fremont in 2010 or '11 and the Raiders' lease expiring after the 2010 season, Steele, a county supervisor, knows time is limited but is confident of a resolution.
"I believe the Raiders want a lease extension," she said. "I work under deadlines all the time, but we've got the time to get this done."
Birren said there is nothing on the table yet about an extension, "but we will always talk to them about that." He also said upgrading the stadium is a high priority.
The jury award came out of a bitter trial in Sacramento Superior Court, in which the Raiders initially sought $1.1 billion in a suit related to their 1995 move from Los Angeles back to their original city.
Owner Al Davis charged that he had signed a 10-year stadium lease agreement, only to learn home games were not sold out, as allegedly promised by the city and county representatives who brokered the deal.
Davis also took issue with a seating license fee program that increased the price of season tickets and hindered sellouts.
When the Raiders were countersued out of fear they would try to break the lease, the matter ended up in court. After five months of arguments and a parade of witnesses that included former 49ers coach Bill Walsh, Raiders Hall of Fame center Jim Otto and Davis, the jury decided the Raiders deserved only the smaller monetary award for establishing negligence but not fraud.
Three weeks ago, the 3rd Appellate District of the California Court of Appeal overturned the verdict, ruling the Raiders forfeited their right to sue for fraud because they accepted a revised agreement in 1996.
The Raiders elected not to press the case further in the interest of forging a better relationship. The OACC Authority, in turn, will not seek reimbursement of $150,000 in court costs from the Raiders.
Tempers have been cooling for more than a year. In October 2005, the sides called their first truce -- the team took over its ticket operations in 2006 from an embattled outside agency, junked the seating-rights requirement (personal seat licenses) and restructured prices.
As a result, the Raiders, despite a 2-10 record, have sold out five of their first six home games, surpassing the average of sellouts per season in previous years.