During Tuesday’s re-introductory press conference, Raiders coach Jon Gruden mentioned on a couple of occasions that the team will spend two more years in Oakland. Separately, he expressed a desire to fill up the Black Hole on at least seven or eight more occasions, which implies that they possibly will be in Oakland only one more year.
So how much longer will the Raiders be in Oakland? That’s not currently known.
As former Raiders CEO Amy Trask, now an analyst with CBS Sports Network, explained during a Thursday visit to the PFT PM podcast, the lease at the Oakland Coliseum runs through 2018. After that, it’s unclear where the Raiders will play.
They could negotiate another one-year lease to remain in Oakland, which Oakland may or may not be interested in doing -- or for which Oakland may decide to drive too hard of a bargain. Or they could look for an interim location; Levi’s Stadium would make sense, but neither the Raiders nor the 49ers may be interested in sharing space.
Trask mentioned another possibility that the late Al Davis had discussed from time to time when considering relocation options: Playing all games on the road.
That would create a horrible competitive disadvantage for the Raiders, and it would create an unfair competitive advantage for the eight teams that end up having an extra home game. Which means it’s not a viable option.
Regardless, the Raiders may have to come up with something, and possibly soon, if they don’t extend their ability to play in Oakland beyond 2018.
For the full interview, and the rest of the Thursday podcast, click the link below.