If Raiders owner Mark Davis flirted with San Antonio to get the attention of Oakland, it worked.
After news broke of Davis visiting Texas recently for a tour of potential stadium sites (and after Davis acknowledged it via messages posted on the team’s Twitter feed), Oakland mayor Jean Quan took to Twitter to address the effort to placate -- and keep -- both the Raiders and A’s over the long haul.
“Oakland is working to help build new ballparks for both the Raiders and the A’s, and we’re seeing progress on both fronts,” Quan said. “We are making continued progress at the table with the Raider and the world’s third-largest real estate firm talking about Coliseum City. The 10-year lease extension for the A’s includes a commitment from the teams’ owners to sit down to talk building a new Oakland ballpark.”
In June, Davis said that talks on a new stadium had occurred, but he bemoaned the lack of progress. It’s unclear whether he’d agree with Quan’s assessment that progress actually has been made.
The real question becomes whether progress toward a new stadium in Oakland will be made now that Davis has shown the powers-that-be in Oakland that he has some power, and that he’s willing to consider using it. Especially with a lease that last for only 10 more games.