Judge gives Oakland 45 days to amend lawsuit against NFL, Raiders over move to Las Vegas

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- A judge has given the city of Oakland 45 days to amend their complaint against the NFL and Raiders over the team's move to Las Vegas. The city's anti-trust lawsuit argues the NFL and team owners acted in concert with Raiders owner Mark Davis to disregard the city's efforts to keep the team in Oakland.

Attorneys for the city seemed confident as they walked into San Francisco Federal Court, ready to take on the NFL and Raiders owner Mark Davis.

But when the one-hour hearing was completed, the city was on the receiving end of a dressing down by judge Joseph Spero, a lecture that ended with the 45 day reprieve.

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"He did instruct our attorneys that we need to come back within 45 days to be able to provide additional amendments, information clearly defining why we believe that it is an anti-trust case," explained Oakland City Councilmember Noel Gallo.

In December, Oakland filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the NFL, Mark Davis and 31 other team owners, alleging their March 2017 vote to allow Davis to move the Raiders to Las Vegas violated anti-trust laws.

Oakland's attorneys likened the league and its owners to a cartel, a closed system, that colluded to allow the Raiders move, costing Oakland as much as $400 million in lost investment and tax revenue.

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But Judge Spero said, so far, Oakland has failed to prove a violation of anti-trust laws, saying it's a free market and teams can move to whichever city makes the best offer.

In the meantime, the Raiders' new stadium in Las Vegas is more than half done and the entire facility is on track for opening in time for the 2020 season.

"We understand there is a stadium being built there," said Greg Jones with the community group Forever Oakland. "We're not concerned about the Mark Davis team leaving to Vegas. We want justice served like we saw in Cleveland in the 1990's. We want to retain what's our's, which is the Oakland Raider name."

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