I’ve got sports on my mind right now. As a lifelong Oakland/LA Raiders fan, I have some thoughts on the big news about the Raiders planning to move to Las Vegas.
If you really know anything about the city of Oakland, The Raiders, or the area where the Raiders currently call home, you can’t be shocked by the teams plan to leave. Here is why:
#1. The Oakland Coliseum was a dump before the 1995 renovations to bring the Raiders back from LA, and is still a dump today. It is easily, hands down, not even a debate here, the WORST venue in professional football.
#2. Taxpayers in Oakland are NOT going to approve funding for a new Raiders Stadium. No Way! Not too many people know this: Tax payers in Oakland are still on the hook for $95 million in debt from the 1995 coliseum renovations. Also, any privately funded stadium in Oakland was not working out, because nobody is crazy enough to invest 2 billion dollars in Oakland.
#3. If you are not cheering for Oakland, don’t go to a game in Oakland. There are many reasons for this, but mostly it comes down to safety. Would you feel safe in Oakland wearing a KC Chiefs jersey? Basically that means, when the Raiders are playing poorly, the stadium will be empty. By the way….I’ve seen people cheer for other teams in Oakland and survive, but I have lots of stories I could tell about disrespectful opposing team fans in Oakland getting beaten-up. Believe me on this, Oakland is not a good place to get too many beers in you and smack talk the home team.
There is some good to take from this for Bay Area Sports Fans: The focus to keep the A’s happy will be much greater. The Warriors will move out of Oakland soon for a new stadium in San Francisco, and with the Raiders on to Las Vegas. That leaves the A’s as the last team standing, so chances are better the A’s can get a new stadium built with private money and stay in Oakland long term.
