What is now awkward could soon get ugly.
Despite approval from the NFL owners to move the team to Las Vegas, the Oakland Raiders still have a series of one-year options on their lease at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum for the 2017 and 2018 season. Without another home until 2020, owner Mark Davis has plans to continue playing at the Coliseum for at least the next two seasons, but a stunning revelation at Wednesday’s Oakland-Alameda County Authority board meeting could put those plans in jeopardy.
As first reported by KCBS, an audit showed that the Raiders owe possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid parking dues to the Coliseum Authority, a fact that renders the team eligible for eviction. The Raiders owe at least $25,000 per game the past four years, or a minimum of $800,000 according to the audit.
According to KCBS, the board was “blindsided” by the discovery, but plans to allow the Raiders to settle it’s debt and play at the Coliseum next season, at least for now. Board chair Larry Reid did not mention any plans regarding the 2018 season.
“It’s a slap in the face,” Reid said via KCBS. “It’s frustrating. We’ve got to make sure that we hold them accountable and that they repay back to the public the money that is owed.”
Though the current terms of the Raiders’ lease is up after 2018, the team will likely continue to play in the Bay Area during the 2019 season, with their new Las Vegas Stadium not projected for completion until 2020. Davis has said previously he’d be open to working out a deal with the Coliseum for 2019, something that now seems even more unlikely.