Mark Davis: Raiders may return to L.A.

ALAMEDA, Calif. - Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis said it's imperative his team get a new stadium and he has had discussions with groups in Los Angeles about returning the franchise to Southern California.

"The timetable is yesterday. So that's where it is. We've got to get a stadium. We've got to get that done," Davis said Tuesday in his first public comments since taking over the organization in October following the death of his father, Al.

"It's such a competitive business. It really is competitive. We can't compete for a lot of the players that other teams can, at times."

Davis made his comments at a news conference announcing the hiring of Reggie McKenzie as the team's new general manager and the firing of coach Hue Jackson.

Oakland Raiders fire coach Hue Jackson

According to CBSSports.com's Eric Gilmore, Davis said McKenzie was the "right man" for the job.

"My feeling always has been that if my father wasn't here, we needed someone to run that football side of the building, and I needed to find the right person," Davis said. "I truly believe that Reggie McKenzie is the right man for this job, and I think you'll all see that as we go along."

Davis said that with a general manager now in place to run the football side of the organization, he can focus even more on getting the Raiders out of the outdated Oakland Coliseum. The Raiders lack many of the modern amenities that are in some of the league's newer stadiums that generate more revenues for other teams.

Davis said CEO Amy Trask has talked with officials in Oakland about a new stadium there and with the San Francisco 49ers about possibly sharing a stadium in Santa Clara.

Davis said he has talked to groups in Los Angeles but hasn't received an offer he likes. The Raiders played in Los Angeles from 1982-94.

"We're trying to get something done up here but if we can't, we've got to get something done somewhere because we need to be able to compete," he said. "And that's where it's at."

Davis also said he has no intention of selling the team he took over after his father died Oct. 8 of heart failure. Davis took over as managing general partner when his father died and owns the majority of the team with his mother, Carole.

"This is my life," he said. "I've been with the Raiders for 48 years. And my whole thing is to continue the legacy that my father built here and I've got one of the largest extended families in the world. And that's what all these former players and everybody else that's been in this organization and they mean a lot to me and this organization represents them as well as they represent us and that's where it's going to stay."

[w_roos]

I think the team should rename itself as the California Nomads, and spend 10 or so years in the LA area, followed by 10 or so years in the Oakland area.

[w_roos]

...Just continue to alternate back and forth...