Latest On Raiders Exploring Possible Move To San Antonio

 

Update:

San Antonio Chamber of Commerce executive Richard Perez mentioned in an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio that Raiders owner Mark Davis told him that San Antonio is an option they’re “looking very closely” at.

“I will you tell that I felt very, very comfortable and confident that his word was true,” Perez said, via Pro Football Talk. “And he said, ‘Look, you know, I’m not telling you that I’m coming today, but I will tell you that I’m looking, and you all are definitely someone that we’re looking very closely at.’”

Davis has since downplayed his meeting with city officials, and San Antonio has been used as leverage by NFL teams in negotiations with their respective cities, so it’s hard to put a lot of stock in the idea of the Raider relocating to Texas.

“The carrot’s been dangled in front of us before,” said Perez of teams discussing San Antonio as a relocation option. “We’ve jumped, and we haven’t been successful. But if you don’t take a chance, you never will succeed.”

Both Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Texans owner Bob McNair have mentioned how important San Antonio is to their franchises, so it seems unlikely that they would allow such a move without some serious protesting.

We’ll have more updates regarding the Raiders’ stadium issues as the news becomes available.

————-

Raiders owner Mark Davis released a statement regarding the reports of him meeting with San Antonio officials.

1 of 3 – Raiders Owner Mark Davis, “I was in San Antonio to honor Cliff Branch on his induction into the PVILCA…”

— OAKLAND RAIDERS (@RAIDERS) July 29, 2014

2 of 3 Mark Davis cont’d, Former San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros is a friend, and Henry suggested I take the opportunity to meet with…”

— OAKLAND RAIDERS (@RAIDERS) July 29, 2014

3 of 3 Mark Davis, “…with some of the city officials while we were in town. I have nothing further to discuss on the topic.”

— OAKLAND RAIDERS (@RAIDERS) July 29, 2014

————

The San Antonio Express-News reports that Raiders owner Mark Davis and his two top lieutenants met with San Antonio officials to discuss the idea of possibly relocating the franchise to Texas.

Davis reportedly spent two or three days in San Antonio, and even took in an aerial tour of the city.

The paper points out that San Antonio has been a bargaining chip for owners looking to negotiate new contracts in their respective cities, but his sources have said that Davis’ interest in the idea is “at least somewhat more serious.”

The Raiders current lease with O.co stadium expires after this year and Davis is reportedly “perturbed” with the current situation, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to hear that they could be looking to gain some additional leverage.

Henry Cisneros, the major of San Antonio, was the “architect of the meeting,” according to publication.

The Alamodome would likely be the team’s home if they were to relocate, but it seems almost certain that the Raiders would want some guarantees related to a new stadium in order to relocate.

For an NFL franchise to relocate, they would need the approval of 24 of the league’s 32 owners and given the fact that the NFL is trying to place a team in Los Angeles, it’s just hard to imagine them approving a move like this until every avenue has been explored in California.