He recalls the team’s move to Los Angeles, Calif., as well as the team’s move back to Oakland. I used to go.
Advertisement
The Raiders abandoned their Oakland fans the first time in 1982 when they moved to Los Angeles, where they won a Super Bowl title. “If any of our fans have given deposits or anything for season tickets, we’d be like to refund them”, Davis said.
However, the team had to move after the 1996 season because they lost almost all their fan support. It’s like moving the Boston Celtics from Boston or the Lakers from L.A., like, you just don’t move certain franchises with the fan base that they have.
The team’s Twitter account is also touting NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s remarks, notable mainly because Goodell may be the most-hated man in football-among fans and players alike.
But here in Bakersfield, mixed feelings for the fans who love this team that has been in California for 57 years.
“We’re sick and exhausted of just being pawns”, said Rob Rivera, the president of the Black Hole fan club. The team moved to Baltimore, 13 years after the Colts left the same city to move to Indianapolis. They were great trips for us. He said the 49ers didn’t see any substantial change in revenue from the departure, or return, of the Raiders to Oakland. At least one group, from Toronto, wanted to move the franchise across the border.
The Las Vegas stadium project is reportedly worth $1.7 billion with $750 of public financing included.
But recently, Davis had appeared to be itching to leave the city once more, going in on a bid with the Chargers to move both teams to Los Angeles – a bid that voted down by National Football League owners early a year ago.
“Talking to many of them, unfortunately the sentiment is just like mine”, he said. Are you going to do that to us? This is it. You guys did us dirty on this one. “You have to exhaust everything to try and stay in a city”.
Not all fans are ready to give up on the team. “I could cry right now”. “We’re helping out the community any way we can”.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf sent another letter Sunday to make the case.
Scott McKibben, executive director of the Coliseum authority board, on Tuesday said lawyers are also looking at whether the NFL and the Raiders followed the league’s relocation policy while negotiating the approved deal to move to Las Vegas.
Advertisement
With the Raiders planning to move to Las Vegas, only the Athletics and Warriors remain true to the city of Oakland. What happens in between the end of next season and the opening of their new stadium in Sin City, however, is reportedly up in the air. “I would say I doubt it”.
