One of the first questions that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell fielded during his Wednesday press conference in Atlanta concerned where the Raiders will play their home games during the 2019 season.
Goodell said it was “unfortunate” that the city of Oakland filed a lawsuit against the Raiders related to the team’s impending move to Las Vegas. The Raiders responded to that lawsuit by pulling their $7.5 million offer to the city to remain at the Coliseum for 2019 and there have been several options for a home site discussed in the last couple of months.
Goodell was asked specifically about San Diego being an option and said he believes that it is Raiders owner Mark Davis’ preference to remain in the Bay Area. Oracle Park, the home of the San Francisco Giants, has been mentioned as a possible spot for the Raiders to play their seven U.S. home games as they’ll be in London for one game.
As for a timeline on the decision, Goodell said in the past that the league needed to know by the end of January. It’s the e end of January and the league doesn’t know, so the answer on Wednesday was that the “sooner the better” because of the need for the league to put together the 2019 schedule.