by Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–After Los Angeles developer Forest City withdrew from it’s plans to demolish the Oakland Coliseum and build a new stadium for the Oakland Raiders which would include building retail, a luxury hotel, and condos on the Coliseum foot print, the Raiders are now without a developer. The A’s who are saying “wait a minute, what about our ten year lease” are prepared to leave the Coliseum with two years notice if the Raiders get what they want and have the Coliseum torn down for a new football stadium and Coliseum city village. The Raiders want to get started by 2015 with construction.

Oakland City Councilman Larry Reid said that the city doesn’t have the funding to tear the Coliseum and put a new stadium on it, “they don’t have a developer, they don’t have the money” said Reid. The A’s and the city council came to an agreement when the council voted last week 6-2 in favor of getting the A’s a ten year lease.

With the Raiders stepping up and saying they want the stadium torn down in 2015 the A’s want a two year notice before they have to leave the Coliseum before construction on a new Raiders stadium. The two years would keep the A’s at the Coliseum until the end of the 2016 season enough time to find new digs for the 2017 season. The Raiders are saying they don’t want to wait until 2016 they want to start in 2015.

The city council and the Alameda County board of Supervisors will be voting on the A’s ten year lease on July 29th, the sueprvisors are on board with enough votes to pass the new lease but the jury is still out with the city council who are still debating on passing the lease agreement for the A’s. Some of the stigmas have been over the length of the A’s notice to be given before leaving the Coliseum in case they want to leave Oakland. The Joint Powers Authority have asked the A’s to renegotiate the four year notice requirement, the A’s are asking for two years notice before vacating, the Council is asking the A’s to share advertising revenue from the new $10 million scoreboard the team plans to install.

A’s co-owner Lew Wolf said he has no intention of renegotiating the lease and that the A’s are of the understanding they have an agreement for ten years ready to sign. Wolf and the A’s have permission from MLB Commissioner Bud Selig to leave for either San Antonio or Montreal on a moments notice if there is no deal with the city.

The notion that the Raiders are asking to tear down the Coliseum so they can build a new stadium by 2015 got some headshaking reactions from some city officials, “(the idea is) totally preposterous, we owe about $180 million on the stadium, this is either smoke and mirrors or they are on crack” said County Supervisor Nate Miley.

Coliseum City attorney also a heavy in the Oakland political scene Zachary Wasserman wrote to Oakland Mayor Jean Quan on July 2 saying “it would be critical to demolish the existing stadium in 2015” if the stadium is not ready by then the Raiders plan to play elsewhere until the new Raiders stadium is ready, “(the Raiders) are making arrangements to play elsewhere” wrote Wasserman.

The A’s don’t believe that the Raiders can get an agreement from the JPA to start construction in 2015 and force the A’s out by 2015. The A’s want at least two years notice if they have to vacate the Coliseum to play elsewhere and the A’s are confident it won’t happen, “from our position, we just don’t think that (Raiders project) is going to happen, we are betting it doesn’t” said A’s spokesman Ken Pries.

Jerry Feitelberg is covering A’s baseball for http://www.sportsradioservice.com