I have it from a good unnamed source that the Oakland Raiders -- rumored by some to leave after the current lease expires in five years -- plan to remain in Oakland through 2016, when the original Raider bonds expire.
The news comes as welcome on the day that Oakland opens a sold-out Coliseum and hosts the hated Denver Broncos. But the obvious question of if the Raiders retention will mean a new stadium is not settled.
As the current Coliseum is vastly behind schedule for an upgrade and a mostly-privately-owned stadium could bring big bucks to the "Coliseum Redevelopment Area" surrounding the Complex, combined with corporate sponsorship, the targer appears to be an ungrade of the stadium.
It's also clear that what I told GAP Founder and Oakland A's owned Don Fisher two years ago is coming to pass: the Fremont A's deal is a loser because of its design based on land-sales performance. While that scheme works in a great economy, it becomes more and more terrible as the economy worsens.
But what's clear is the "Oakland" will remain in the Raiders name for the foreceable future.
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