Al and John, together at last? Really?!

by David Fucillo on Jan 29, 2007 3:09 PM PST in 49ers Stadium

Personally, I think this is so crazy it could work. The 49ers and Raiders sharing a stadium year-round...why not?

Word is the San Francisco 49ers have informally approached the Oakland Raiders about building a new home -- together.

I had heard suggestions about this idea in the past, but nothing ever really went beyond just the suggestion of it. Now, there is smoke around that idea, and where there's smoke, there's fire. The 49ers have quickly denied that they approached the Raiders about this idea. But the two Chronicle writers say that sources within the Raiders indicated the matter was brought up in an informal setting.

Whether you're a 49ers fan that hates the Raiders, or vice versa, the idea clearly makes sense. If they got NFL funding anywhere near what the Giants and Jets got for a joint Meadowlands stadium, it would help the financing situation tremendously.

So what are your thoughts on this? Clearly it's tough to consider when you're talking about a rival, and particularly one owned by someone who makes your blood curdle. However, it makes all the sense in the world from a business standpoint, as long as you can avoid the required Al Davis lawsuits. No matter what, they would make for seriously strange bedfellows. If it took this to get a stadium done, it'd certainly be a fitting end to this whole bizarre saga.

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good idea

where would they build it? fremont. why not add the a's too. the staples center in la is got kings, clips, lakes, sparx, the rooler derby too. maybe gilroy? next to the shopping outlets. the women shop while the men watch football. what a dream.

who threw da snowball at da kicker?

by creekside on Jan 29, 2007 6:38 PM PST reply actions

Well

The thing with a joint stadium like this that we can take specifically from the New York precedent is the major increase in funding, which comes not only from having two teams privately contributing, but possibly the city helping as well.

I remember early numbers in the 49ers potential private investment on a stadium being 600-800 million dollars, but with infrastructure costs escalating the total cost of a stadium to a possible 1.5 billion dollars. If both teams even contribute anywhere near 700 million dollars, it seriously reduces public costs on a single stadium project.

The area is a question, of course, but this kind of arrangement could bring candlestick back into the picture as a site, and don't rule out razing Oakland Colosseum and rebuilding there, assuming the A's move out first (if both teams just share candlestick for a year or two, it could happen...).

I don't know anything about different sites, other than Santa Clara, but the extra money from a joint venture opens up possibilities that don't exist right now.

This is all just off the top of my head, of course, and hasn't gotten any kind of researchy goodness behind it, but it makes intuitive sense at least.

And the New York precedent of 1.4 billion dollars for a joint stadium also helps, because it creates an existing situation that can be used legally as leverage by the teams against a city, which the original 1.5 billion dollar stadium proposal didn't have. It's always harder to set a precedent than to use one.

I keep reliving the moment when Steve Young almost fell down... over and over...

by howtheyscored on Jan 29, 2007 7:31 PM PST up reply actions