Officials express optimism about keeping Raiders in Oakland

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Oakland and Alameda County leaders expressed optimism today that they can keep the Raiders in Oakland even though the football team is considering a proposal to partner with the San Diego Chargers to build a new stadium in the Los Angeles area.

Oakland is not going down without a fight. City officials held a closed door meeting Friday morning and the mayor explained how they plan to keep the Raiders in the Bay Area.

The mayor says the city is still negotiating and are exploring all options to keep the team in the Bay Area.

The proposed $1.7-billion stadium would be in Carson, 15 miles south of downtown Los Angeles and home to the Los Angeles Galaxy soccer team.

Click here to check out the stadium plans

The team would share the sports arena with the San Diego Chargers, another NFL team struggling to a secure a deal with their hometown.

In a meeting Friday, Noel Gallo with the Oakland City Council said the way to keep the Raiders is to build in Los Angeles with support from the Bay Area as a whole. "I want to build a great team to get to the Super Bowl," he said.

He's in favor of asking voters to use public money, which is something the mayor says she does not want to do. The $1.7 billion project in Carson would be privately financed.

"I would call in the mayors of every city, 'I need your help, we need to work on this together because not only does Oakland benefit, but every city in the county benefits,"' Gallo said.

John Lupo is a fan who has worked with the Save Oakland Sports campaign and hopes the city and county take this talk of a move seriously. "It is obviously a bargaining ploy. I think it's really about time they get a body together too who can actually negotiate, make a decision, make a process or I think there's a realistic chance they're going to lose all three teams," he said.

The Raiders say they are committed to working out a deal to stay in Oakland, but fans are worried especially after seeing the photos of the stadium. They say the plans to move seem like they have been in the works for a while.