Just days away from the NFL’s annual owners meeting where the Raiders expect to receive a vote on their possible relocation to Las Vegas, Oakland and the finance group tied to the city issued a letter to the league.
The city of Oakland, Alameda County, the Lott Group and Fortress, which have been putting together a plan for a fully financed stadium proposal for the Raiders, provided documents detailing their plan.
The letters and documents laying out the mixed-use stadium site plan and development timeline were sent to the NFL today as follow-up to a March 6 presentation Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and former NFL player and real estate investor Ronnie Lott made to the NFL’s Joint Stadium and Finance Committee.
“We’re not giving up in the fourth quarter,” Schaaf said. “Since I took office two years ago, I have been focused on taking a team-centered approach that is responsible to the Raiders, the NFL, the fans and the taxpayers of Oakland.
“We’ve been successful in doing the environmental clearance, aligning the City and the County which jointly own the land, engaging the league and bringing partners to the table in the Lott Group and Fortress who have the financial backing, compassion for this community and intimate knowledge of the game — on and off the field — to get a deal done. All that’s missing is the Raiders,” Schaaf said.
Lott, who played for the Raiders in Los Angeles in 1991-92, explained why he is emotionally and financially invested in trying to keep the Raiders in Oakland.
“I know how passionate the Bay Area is about the Raiders,” Lott said. “To rip this team away from Oakland for a second time would be heartbreaking and entirely unnecessary given that we have a viable option on the table that keeps them here and helps this community and the team grow.
“We have a sophisticated financial partner in Fortress,” Lott said. “We have done the due diligence, and it is clear that the only fully-financed, ready-to-roll option for the Raiders is in Oakland.”
The letter states that Fortress would be willing to commit $600 million on a traditional loan, combined with $500 million from the NFL and seat licence financing, and that Oakland would commit $200 million to infrastructure funding, with $150 million of that being advanced by Fortress until the tax increments are realized.
The timeline calls for the proposed Oakland stadium to open in 2021 on a 55-acre plot of land, with the entire mixed-use site completed in 2030.
The city said it would provide expedited approval on the remaining land-use requirements and permits for the development of the stadium. In addition, the city said it would work with the Raiders to expedite infrastructure upgrades while stadium renderings are developed.
Oakland would include agreed-upon language in the land-use approvals that would allow the Raiders and the NFL to review and confirm that any ancillary development is compatible with the stadium.
The Lott/Fortress Group is willing to remove themselves from one or more elements of the transactions and development regarding the deal if the Raiders or NFL deem that necessary for it move forward. In that case, Fortress would ask for preferential treatment if the need for third-party capital arose.
Schaaf, City Council President Larry Reid, whose district includes the existing Coliseum and the proposed new stadium site, Lott Group partner and former NFL quarterback Rodney Peete and Fortress Managing Director Drew McKnight plan to gather with Oakland locals to demonstrate support for the Oakland stadium plan at events planned for Saturday.
The relocation to Las Vegas is on the annual meeting agenda with a vote possible, according to a high-ranking NFL source. Las Vegas is planning a 65,000-seat domed stadium. The project would be financed by $750 million in public money from the hotel room tax, along with a $650 million loan from Bank of America and a $500 million contribution from the Raiders.
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