The Oakland Raiders continue to try and figure out what city will be hosting them in the near future, and the San Francisco 49ers might impact the issue. NFL owners have been meeting this week to discuss a variety of topics, and the Los Angeles stadium situation was on the agenda. The league set a deadline of December 28 for the three current home team markets (SD, OAK, STL) to submit final proposals. There is then a tentative voting date of January 13, although that seems to be up in the air.
Amidst all this discussion, an interesting issue emerged. Albert Breer had two tweets, and Raiders writer Vic Tafur had a couple of his own:
Like I said earlier ... The one hang-up on Oakland could be the presence of Levi's Stadium.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) December 2, 2015
No. Argument could be made that Levi's is a viable option for Raiders and that they don't meet relo guidelines. https://t.co/hzR2ZR6Li9
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) December 2, 2015
Sounds like the NFL may try and force Raiders to play at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) December 2, 2015
Nothing's changed as far as #Raiders not wanting to play second fiddle in Santa Clara. And Goodell's said in past it's Mark Davis' decision.
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) December 3, 2015
Breer's tweets are the most interesting. It doesn't sound like the NFL can force the Raiders into Levi's Stadium, but Levi's Stadium could force the Raiders to stay in Oakland. I still think this gets resolved and the Raiders eventually move to LA, but the next month will feature all sorts of maneuvering by all parties involved. This just strikes me as a little something extra in the maneuvering by rich folks looking to get a handout from a city.