Oakland Raider fans kick off preseason amid stadium uncertainty
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- The Oakland Raiders opened their exhibition season against the St. Louis Rams Friday night. There is talk that this could be the Raiders' last season in Northern California.
We know Raiders fans love their team, but it is about to be unrequited? This is the last year of the Raiders' lease with Oakland. The team wants a new, football-only stadium, and is threatening to leave without it. So is this real? Or just posturing? We have no official answers.
They are as loyal, diehard, and true-blue as silver and black will ever get.
It's not just a fan base and a nation, but a culture and if we're to believe what we hear an endangered one, as the Oakland Raiders enter the last year of their lease at the O.Co Coliseum.
"I know they're going away. They went away before," Raiders Fan Tonya Stephens said.
"I think it's terrible. It's a bad thing. I don't know why does the city lets it even happen? I mean, you're leaving good revenue here to take it somewhere else," Raiders fan Chris Navarro said.
By now, we hope you know the backstory because it's complicated. In short, the Raiders have threatened a move to the Los Angeles area where they hope to share a new stadium with the San Diego Chargers, but the Rams are pushing for an L.A. stadium as well.
"Well we are hoping for Oakland to stay here," Rams fan Ernie Leyva said.
Meantime, Oakland and the Raiders have been negotiating with an outside developer to put a new Coliseum City facility in Oakland. Oakland's chief negotiator was not at liberty to tell us much.
However, among the issues, Oakland assistant administrator Claudia Cappio said there is "existing development, new development, the amount of parking, phasing and timing of development, all of that is in the mix right now."
The decisions are coming along with a new season that could be another last or maybe not. For a diehard fan, try dealing with wins, losses and uncertainty in a city trying to hold on to big league status.
