Raiders look at potential home deep in heart of Texas

[yuiyoshida]

San Antonio --

Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis and two top lieutenants met recently with several San Antonio officials to discuss the potential of moving his NFL team from the Bay Area to the Alamo City, sources familiar with the matter have confirmed.

San Antonio has often been used as a bargaining chip for pro sports franchises trying to negotiate better deals in their own cities, but sources have characterized Davis' interest in San Antonio to be at least somewhat more serious. He is clearly perturbed with the current situation in Oakland, where the team's lease expires after the 2014-15 season and where the A's have been going through an arduous lease approval process.

In San Antonio, Henry Cisneros, who led the charge to build the Alamodome when he was mayor, has been described by sources as the architect of the meeting.

On July 18, Davis met with the officials, including Cisneros, then-Mayor Julián Castro, City Manager Sheryl Sculley, Mario Hernandez of the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation, and both Richard Perez and David McGee, the president and chairman of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, respectively.


http://www.sfgate.com/raiders/article/Raiders-look-at-potential-home-deep-in-heart-of-5655367.php

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!THEY CANT LEAVE AGAIN.~!!!
WTF IS HE THINKING??? HOW MANY FOOTBALL TEAMS DOES TEXAS NEED????? If the Raiders leave Oakland, I will NEVER watch or support the NFL AGAIN!

[yuiyoshida]

1. This..makes me feel a little better, but not by much...

Oakland Raiders in SA? Don't Buy Season Tickets

Not unlike reports a couple months ago that the Oakland A's baseball team was considering moving to San Antonio, rumors that the NFL's Oakland Raiders are eyeing the Alamo City are described by officials as a mixture of speculation and wishful thinking.

The sources tell Newsradio 1200 WOAI that it all stems from a trip to San Antonio several weeks ago by Mark Davis, the owner of the Raiders, who are engaged in seemingly perpetual disagreements with the City of Oakland and Alameda County over their playing stadium.

When former Mayor Henry Cisneros, who shares with Davis a connection with Prairie View A&M Univesity, met Davis at an event, sources say he started 'chatting up' San Antonio as a possible new home for the Raiders, going so far as to take Davis to see the Alamodome.

The source says the Alamodome was pushed as a 'stopgap' facility, but stress that Davis never suggested San Antonio, nor did he bring up the subject until his chat with Cisneros. Their talks could not be described as anything near a 'meeting' on the subject.

Read more: http://www.woai.com/articles/woai-local-news-sponsored-by-five-star-cleaners-119078/oakland-raiders-in-sa-dont-buy-season-tickets-12616343/#ixzz38whkelvp

[KamaAina]

2. The league has repeatedly stated that it has no interest whatsoever in a third Texas team

If only they'd been as pragmatic about Florida.

[Auggie]

3. Yep. Unlikely to happen.

L.A. remains the most likely destination IMO.

[yuiyoshida]

4. If the Raiders go to LA

I might still support them, but this will leave just the 49ers, and I will not root for them again. A team has the right to move, but treating their fans like they never existed, telling them to take their loyalty and past financial contributions, and shove it, is a slap to the face of fans in the area. The 49ers said "Screw the city, the new area has more loyal fans, and that's where the money is".. made me see, that their motto should be.."Its just a business.." because Dr. York and company are no better than gold diggers.. going where the money is. They don't give a damn about fan loyalty and shouldn't even carry the name "San Francisco" 49ers. They should be the Santa Clara 49ers, because when push came to shove, they picked up their toys and went home when they didn't get their way.

The Raiders now seem like they want to do the same thing. Oakland has supported them for years and now they flip off the city and say, we're going elsewhere. The whole thing stinks to high heaven, and maybe I should not even watch or support the NFL.. because to them its business as usual. Take the team to where the money is.. and tell the fans to "f-off".

[Auggie]

6. People of means have power to be assholes ...

applies to NFL owners too. It's a developing pattern to blackmail localities with the threat of leaving in favor of tax breaks and taxpayer money to build new stadiums from which they profit. Also a pattern to leverage competing market areas, such as San Antonio, as the Raiders just did.

Money talks. Its also nags and threatens. And usually wins.

[TBF]

5. Well I think SA would support them -

it's a great sports town. People don't realize that out of the top 10 cities in the country - 3 are in Texas and 3 are in California - so it could be either city.

1 New York
2 Los Angeles
3 Chicago
4 Houston
5 Philadelphia
6 Phoenix
7 San Antonio
8 San Diego
9 Dallas
10 San Jose

[yuiyoshida]

7. Its likely they will go Los Angeles...

The owners are greedy, they flip off the fans for the money.

[TBF]

9. That sounds about right. nt

[Jamaal510]

8. I'm not too worried

about the Raiders moving there. The Bay Area has a bigger market than San Antonio, so it makes more sense from a business standpoint to stay here. I think they would also need most of the other owners to approve the move.
I am a little bit worried about the other possibility of them re-locating to L.A. again, though. Their market is even bigger than ours, and while the Raiders are doing horrible right now, many L.A. (Raiders) fans have been thirsty for a professional football team to move there, and they have been said to be talking about constructing a new stadium.