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The City of Oakland's 11th-hour stadium plan appears to be too little, too late for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's liking. Goodell responded to the stadium proposal ahead of this week's annual league meeting in Phoenix, sending a letter on Friday evening to Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf that he believes the city has yet to find "a viable solution" to keeping the Raiders there.
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Earlier on Friday, the City of Oakland and its partners submitted a revised financing plan for a $1.3 billion mixed-use stadium project on the site of the current home of the Raiders, who have called Oakland home for 45 of their 58 seasons, including each of the past 22.
"The material that we reviewed earlier today ... confirms that key issues that we have identified as threshold considerations are simply not resolvable in a reasonable time," the commissioner said in the letter obtained by ESPN and other media outlets, "and in that respect, the information sent today does not present a proposal that is clear and specific, actionable in a reasonable time frame and free of major contingencies."
Raiders owner Mark Davis is said to have "great support" to move the franchise from Oakland to Las Vegas after several years of failed contract talks with the city.
A vote could be held in Phoenix during the NFL meetings on Monday or Tuesday, with Davis needing 24 votes of 32 franchise owners in order to begin finalizing relocation to Las Vegas.
Under the City of Oakland's revised plan, the Raiders and NFL would be required to contribute a combined $500 million. The city vows a commitment of $200 million toward infrastructure improvements. Fortress, a financial equity firm, would advance $150 million via land conveyance for the project.
Under the city's plan, a new home for the Raiders would be built on a 55-acre parcel on the southern edge of where their current stadium sits. According to the plan, the Oakland Athletics could continue to play baseball games in Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum while a football-only venue is constructed.
"We have been prepared for nearly two years to work on finding a solution based on access to land at a certain cost, without constraints on the location of the stadium or timing of construction, and clarity on overall development," Goodell told Schaaf in his letter. "However, at this date, there remains no certainty regarding how the site will be fully developed, or the specific and contractually defined nature of the participation by Fortress or other parties. In addition, the long-term nature of the commitment to the A's remains a significant complication, and the resolution of that issue remains unknown. Other significant uncertainties, which we have previously identified, remain unaddressed.
"Despite all of these efforts, ours and yours, we have not yet identified a viable solution. It is disappointing to me and our clubs to have come to that conclusion."
Davis filed an application with the league in January to move the team to Las Vegas in time for the 2020 season.
The Raiders are proposing to build a $1.9 billion domed-roof stadium in Las Vegas, near the Strip. The stadium would be financed with $750 million in public funding and a $650 million construction loan from Bank of America, with the Raiders and the NFL adding a combined $500 million.
The Raiders would still need to sign a lease with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority Board, which is not expected to review the terms again until after the Phoenix meetings.
Las Vegas officials expect the facility to open in 2020 so the Raiders would need to play the 2019 season in a temporary facility because they have only two years remaining on their Coliseum lease.
