Raiders Gone? John Madden's Not Ready For That
OAKLAND (CBS SF) - The writing on the wall seems to be getting more legible, and it spells trouble for Oakland Raiders fans. NFL owners plan to meet in October to hear proposals from cities hoping to build new stadiums to keep their teams from relocating, and Oakland hasn't been invited, according to the LA Times.
Representatives from St. Louis and San Diego will outline plans to finance and build new facilities to keep, respectively, the Rams and Chargers from fleeing. Meanwhile, owners of both teams are forging ahead with plans for new stadiums in Southern California--and at least one of those stadiums could be a new home for the Raiders.
"I'm not ready for that," former Raiders coach and NFL Hall of Famer John Madden said this morning on KCBS. "I still want to fight to keep the Raiders in Oakland."
Madden said he'd finance the stadium himself if he could. He's still holding out hope that a deal gets done.
"Maybe it's blind loyalty, but there's no way that I can see them leaving."
Representatives of the three interested teams met with NFL officials near Chicago Tuesday, with at least one owner walking away saying there is a "better than 50-50 chance a team will be playing in the LA area in the next couple of years.