The Oakland Raiders might need to find a home away from the East Bay sooner than expected.
The Raiders and the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Authority are engaged in a dispute over unpaid parking revenues that threatens the team’s ability to exercise its 2018 lease option.
In a report to the authority board on Wednesday, Executive Director Scott McKibben wrote that the Raiders are in default for what could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars in contracted parking revenue owed to the authority. The issue dates back to 2013 and came to light during a monthlong audit process.
“We have several times requested additional necessary data to accurately compute what they owe us and only most recently did we receive the data for the 2016 season only,” McKibben wrote.
Outstanding is data from 2013, 2014 and 2015 needed to determine a final amount owed.
The Raiders have the right to dispute the findings of the audit. The team can hold off the default and maintain its 2017 lease option by putting into escrow the amount it might owe, which McKibben reported the Raiders already did.
If the sides cannot agree on a resolution, the matter goes to arbitration. The Raiders could lose the ability to play in Oakland in 2018 if they fail in arbitration and/or do not pay their debt to the authority.
McKibben told the Sun last week that he did not anticipate extending the team’s lease to play in Oakland through the 2019 season, despite owner Mark Davis’ stated desire to do so. He cited an operating deficit on Raiders games and a desire to use the site for other purposes.
The Raiders received approval last week from National Football League owners to move to Las Vegas beginning in the 2020 season, when a new $1.9 billion stadium backed by $750 million in public funding is set to be completed.
Potential Raiders homes for the 2019 season include Santa Clara, San Francisco, Berkeley, San Diego and San Antonio. While Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas has been evaluated by the team, Davis said last week that he did not see the aging, undersized facility as a likely temporary home for a full season.
The authority next meets on April 21, a day after the Las Vegas Stadium Authority Board convenes to discuss an updated version of a draft lease agreement with the Raiders.
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