OAKLAND RAIDERS FANS’ OPEN LETTER TO NFL OWNERS

OPEN LETTER FROM OAKLAND RAIDERS FAN GROUPS TO RAIDERS OWNER MARK DAVIS AND ALL NFL OWNERS

“That Thursday night game against Kansas City shows you the kind of fan loyalty we have here (in Oakland). You can’t buy that anywhere.” – quote from Raiders owner Mark Davis on fan support in Oakland following the team’s home victory in a pounding, cold rain over the Chiefs (2014 season) before a SELLOUT CROWD in a newspaper article.

To the National Football League owners:

Thank you for considering this letter whose purpose is to:

1) Convince you that the Raiders and the NFL are better off economically with the team in Oakland and reject its proposed move to Las Vegas.

2) Request that the NFL follow its own relocation guidelines – which we consider to be a de facto contract with fans -and

3) Document our concern that false perceptions/narratives may have unduly influenced a decision that will once again devastate legendarily loyal fans who have helped the Raiders thrive in Oakland for generations.

Please uphold your primary advertising slogan – “Football is Family”- and make a major statement to fans across the country that they indeed matter by rejecting the Raiders move to Las Vegas.

The ‘Parade of Relocations’ – including the iconic Chargers and Rams in the last year – must end.

We believe that moving the Raiders will be a negative “tipping point” for the NFL. Thousands of fans may very well be turned-off forever by what they perceive is the NFL’s lack of loyalty to its most important constituents– the fans!

Fans generally believe that Oakland has indeed presented a workable option that could work long-term for the Raiders and A’s. But, it appears that Oakland was eliminated as an option long ago.

Fans have been whipsawed for years. They’ve been alternately buoyed, confused and now jolted after hearing Mr. Davis say for years that he wanted to stay in the city where his team greatly benefitted for more than four decades while at the same time the franchise eyed Los Angeles, Carson, San Antonio and now Las Vegas as its new ‘home.’

Alameda County/City of Oakland officials, fans and economists have reached the same conclusion: keeping the Raiders in Oakland is in the NFL’s best interest. Indeed, nationally-known economist Roger Knoll was quoted as saying that the probability that the “numbers” will work in Las Vegas are “pretty close to zero.”

A recent San Francisco Chronicle editorial also noted: “The NFL owes it to Oakland fans – and to its long-term interest – to reject the Raiders’ move” (to Las Vegas).” In addition, the editorial noted, “it’s not just a matter of sentiment. As a place for investment, there is no comparison between the size, wealth and economic diversity of the Bay Area and the roller-coaster of the gambling- dependent Las Vegas Market.”

· RAIDERS DON’T MEET NFL’S RELOCATION GUIDELINES (An implied contract with fans).

The OAKLAND Raiders season tickets waiting list reportedly has 14,400 to 20,000 people! (NFL relocation guidelines state that a team must show that support is decreasing). The Raiders and the NFL CANNOT plausibly maintain that support in Oakland is dwindling; it’s INCREASING!

In addition, a team must exhaust all options in its current home-market. We also understand the NFL is claiming the Oakland A’s are a roadblock to a new Raiders stadium in Oakland. But A’s President Dave Kaval has stated that “we want the Raiders to stay in Oakland.” So that roadblock must be taken off the table!

Both the Raiders and A’s can build new stadiums at the Coliseum and the A’s may yet build a new stadium at another location. So, the NFL’s assertion that the A’s are a roadblock doesn’t make sense to fans and other community observers.

The land, financing, infrastructure and an irreplaceable fan base are in place in Oakland. Former Raiders CEO Amy Trask believes the Coliseum site is the best in the country.

For the record, some fans continued to buy season tickets after reading the NFL’s relocation guidelines and concluding the Raiders would not be allowed to move. Very few people wanted to buy tickets for a team they thought might abandon Oakland again; And no fan we know of wants to help finance a new stadium in Las Vegas. Oakland fans relied in part on the NFL’s guidelines.

The NFL’s relocation criteria stipulate that a team must try to ensure stability and good relations in its hometown market. For the last three years at least, fans have been subjected to reports that the team was exploring moves to Los Angeles, Carson, San Antonio and Las Vegas. This did not foster stability and fan loyalty in the Oakland “home” market.

In addition, we were told the Raiders were on a “parallel track” in Oakland and Carson. The team acquired an option on land in Carson but not- as far as we know – in Oakland – its home market.

FALSE ASSUMPTIONS/NARRATIVES

The most galling, pervasive false narrative is that there is not significant public opposition to the Raiders leaving Oakland. We don’t understand this perception because myriad fan groups have contacted NFL officials including Commissioner Roger Goodell, Executive Vice President Eric Grubman as well as teams to register strong opposition to a Raiders move. Thousands of people have signed petitions https://www.change.org/p/nfl-tell-nfl-front-office-nfl-team-owners-not-to-approve-relocation-of-the-oakland-raiders?utm_source=embedded_petition_view in opposition to the move. Another petition: http://apps.facebook.com/my-polls/form/zahbld

For the past two years, television cameras have shown thousands of fans at the Coliseum protesting via printed and home-made signs opposing the move and urging the Raiders to “Stay in Oakland.”

And broadcast/print media coast to coast have reported on the widespread fan/community opposition to the Raiders move. We do not understand how anyone could conclude that Oakland Raiders fans are not in an uproar over this move – especially people in Alameda County which will be saddled with a $90 million debt from the Raiders move stemming from renovations the team required when it moved back to Oakland!

· Two of the most egregious false narratives are that OAKLAND fans – who are the heart of the Raider Nation – will travel to Las Vegas. Please consider that this is patently false; Oakland/Northern California fans – who are among thousands of people who’ve signed a petition opposing the move – want all NFL owners to know that if you build a new stadium in Las Vegas, “we will not come.” (We’ve read that the Raiders owner Mark Davis has made the scenario of Oakland fans traveling to Las Vegas a selling point to owners. But please know that only a very small percentage of fans have indicated they might consider going to even ONE game – let alone buy season tickets – in Las Vegas.

· Another misperception: Oakland hasn’t done enough to keep the Raiders in Oakland. Oakland/Alameda County has offered environmentally/legally-vetted land with superior parking, transportation, infrastructure at far less cost and officials have reportedly made numerous attempts to present their plans to team officials who reportedly refused to meet with local officials for more than a year. In addition, Oakland officials traveled to league meetings to present the new stadium plans which, as Oakland City Councilman Larry Reid noted, addresses “everything” the NFL wanted from Oakland.

· Although Oakland did not agree to put up nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars through a hotel tax, Oakland has offered several hundred million dollars’ worth of public support via infrastructure improvements. And Oakland’s Coliseum site is nearly double the size of Las Vegas’ site.

We might add that the fans/city and county spent millions of dollars to build and renovate the Coliseum and provided many years of sellouts even when the team was abysmal on the field.

WHY OAKLAND DESERVES TO KEEP THE RAIDERS

(The NFL – to some degree – also owes Oakland.)

Why?

There’s no question that Oakland owes a debt to the Raiders – whose wonderful teams shined a powerful, positive spotlight on Oakland in the 1960’s and 1970’s. The Raiders– like the A’s and Warriors – sustain jobs and support worthwhile community projects. Bringing thousands of people to Oakland and the East Bay on at least 10 days, the Raiders are a civic treasure whose value can’t be measured in dollars alone.

But the Raiders have also greatly benefitted from the partnership with Oakland.

In 1995, Oakland/Alameda County helped the Raiders – whose attendance was sometimes less than good in Southern California – by approving $150 million worth of renovations to the Coliseum AT THE REQUEST OF THE RAIDERS which also obtained a $50 million loan. And from the 1960’s through 1981, Oakland supported the Raiders at a level that was the envy of many other sports teams.

Oakland/the East Bay comprise one of the world’s most loyal fan bases that has contributed to the team’s on-field and financial success, showing up year after year. The Oakland Raiders fan base is in itself an iconic brand that has also played a role in the NFL’s unrivalled financial fortune.

These are just a few of the reasons why Oakland deserves to keep the Raiders.

WHY KEEPING THE RAIDERS IN OAKLAND IS IN THE TEAM’S and NFL’S BEST INTEREST

The Raiders should stay in Oakland because the Oakland/East Bay region is a rising economic force and, coupled with its legendarily large, loyal and INCREASING fan base here, would enable the team to be one of the NFL’s most successful franchises on and off-the-field.

Indeed, a Bay Area sports editor wrote that the Raiders could “rule the Bay Area” which is one of the richest regions in the world and one of the nation’s most populous metropolitan regions.

The Coliseum site has an unrivalled combination of land, transportation infrastructure, weather, location, red hot economy, and a built-in, decades-old, extremely loyal and passionate customer base.

The Coliseum site’s’ proximity to BART, airport connector, freeway access and sheer size alone should be enough to convince even the most jaded critics that it should be the FAVORITE – not the underdog – as the preferred new Raiders stadium site.

The infrastructure that’s already in place and functioning at the Coliseum WOULD COST BILLIONS TO BUILD SOMEWHERE ELSE!

Oakland boasts one of the nation’s hottest housing markets, thousands of people are pouring in to live and work, 200 restaurants have opened in the last couple of years and some $1.5 billion will be invested into Oakland’s already beautiful waterfront in the coming years.

When all factors are considered, Oakland’s Coliseum site is the nation’s best urban canvas for new stadiums for the Raiders and/or A’s.

There is more than enough individual fan, and corporate sponsor dollars and sheer room for a new Raiders stadium although the positioning and logistics will require some creativity and teamwork from all the stakeholders. The Raiders and A’s could conceivably both build new stadiums with some ingenuity and flexibility.

*The Bay Area is a Top 5 market and getting bigger every year.

If you believe that market size matters … then the Raiders should stay in Oakland. That’s because the Bay Area currently is a Top 5 market and growing. The Bay Area is growing so rapidly, one population study says that the Bay Area will become the nation’s 3rd -largest market by 2025 (just 10 years from now). That means the Bay Area will surpass Philadelphia and Chicago in population, and will trail only L.A. and NYC. Couple that growing market size with the Bay Area’s enormous wealth and almost unparalleled corporate base, and it becomes clear that the Raiders’ strongest economic bet is to stay in Oakland, where they can combine tradition with wealth and a strong corporate base.

* The Oakland/East Bay corporate base is underrated and quite strong.

Oakland alone has Clorox, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, Pandora, Sungevity and soon UBER. Nearby East Bay cities have large corporations such as Chevron, Safeway, Chiron, Pixar and Tanium. There already is a proven track record of Bay Area tech companies being corporate sponsors at the Coliseum. For instance, Oracle is based in nearby Redwood City and already is the corporate sponsor of what was formerly called the Oakland Arena. Now, Oracle Area is a great venue in the NBA. Silicon Valley stalwarts like McAfee and Network Associates are past corporate naming sponsors of the Oakland Coliseum, now known as the O.Co Coliseu

* Market size doesn’t matter in the NFL because of revenue-sharing. The strength of the NFL business model is that the Packers in little Green Bay are just as economically strong as the Jets or Giants in New York/New Jersey. So, a Raiders’ move to Las Vegas is unnecessary and success is uncertain.

* The Raiders have an opportunity to have a “Mega Market,” – In the Bay Area!

The Raiders have an opportunity to woo football fans in San Francisco, Marin County and the North Bay. Many of those fans could even be former 49ers fans.

As the Raiders ascend in the WIN column, the Raiders have an opportunity to rule the Bay Area’s football landscape. All they have to do is stay in Oakland and win.

With the booming East Bay economy and corporate fan support increasing, this is precisely the wrong time for the Raiders and NFL to leave Oakland.

It is precisely the RIGHT TIME for the Raiders to make a permanent investment in the Oakland/East Bay community which has invested so much – financially, emotionally and culturally – in the Raiders since 1960.

The market encompasses 75 miles; if it was a failed market, then the 49ers stadium would not have been done.

Summary: All economic factors aside, our argument effectively boils down to one simple request: Do The Right Thing by Oakland.

Please return the financial and emotional investment that Oakland and the East Bay have made in the Raiders since 1960 and reward this loyalty by keeping the team in its true home. Oakland – with a new stadium – has the potential to be one of the strongest markets for the NFL for generations.

And after all, as successful business owners, you know that keeping a customer (in Oakland) is a lot easier than getting a new one (in Las Vegas).

CONTACTS:

(For SaveOaklandSports) Jim Zelinski – 415/420-6050; Chris Dobbins – 510/928-0454; Kenny Mellor – 925/200-1713

(For Stay in Oakland) John Lupo – 510/575-1426

(For The Oakland Raiders Booster Club) Wayne Deboe – 510/754-8747

(For The Oakland Economic and Legal Action Committee) Ray Bobbitt – 415/816-9253

(For FANFAIRNESS.ORG) Pat Healy – [email protected]