The #Oakland #Raiders are looking for a new home venue, and what was once enemy territory could become a wild card landing spot. The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Kevin Acee reports developer Doug Manchester has contacted NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell expressing a desire to build a privately-financed stadium in Mission Valley.
Raiders seeking new residence
The Raiders seem out of options to stay in Oakland and have been flirting with Las Vegas. However, with the Vegas deal not done, the Silver and Black might have an option to consider taking over the area that until very recently was the home market of the #San Diego #Chargers.
The Chargers just left for Los Angeles after playing in San Diego since 1961. Literally, as in a month ago, they bolted for LA when all current options for a new stadium were exhausted, but, did no one have an idea that this new state-of-the-art stadium would require public funding?
Raider fans would pay any price to beat the Chargers in L.A.
— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) February 14, 2017
Obviously, turning this plan into a reality isn’t simple and won’t happen overnight, if ever, but why did it wait until now? Lives have been turned upside down with the Chargers relocation – from team staff needing to relocate, to local fans losing their favorite team. Per Acee’s story, Manchester’s letter to Goodall indicates that his group could construct a new 70,000-seat stadium and surrounding development.
It also states that an NFL franchise could participate as a partner or tenant.
Raiders future could still be in California
The Chargers are gone from San Diego and extremely unlikely to ever return. The Raiders have a foot and a half out the door in Oakland and were leaning toward Las Vegas, but maybe now have another surprising option.
If not the Chargers or the Raiders, would another team consider calling San Diego home, pending this stunning stadium plan becoming a reality?
The debate over who should be financially responsible for brand new stadiums is one that’ll last for a long time, but at the end of the day the public shouldn’t have to cough up any new money for it to happen.
The people of San Diego spoke up when they voted against publicly financing a new venue for the Chargers, and they were right to do so. Unfortunately, it resulted in the loss of the team that had been there for more than half a century.