City Of Oakland Is Preparing To Lawyer Up Against The Raiders And NFL

Oakland Coliseum officials are lawyering up for a potential lawsuit by the city against the Raiders and the NFL.

Per Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross of the San Francisco Chronicle, the lawsuit could cause the team to leave after this upcoming season.

Oakland Councilman Noel Gallo spoke with The Chronicle on Tuesday, informing them that the multimillion-dollar antitrust lawsuit against the Raiders and the NFL regards the team’s impending move to Las Vegas and that the City Council authorization is expected to be filed and announced before the Raiders’ 2018 season opener game against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday, Sept. 10.

The city attorney’s office is preparing to file the suit and is waiting for contract language sign-offs from the outside firms that will handle the litigation, according to the Chronicle.

Outside attorneys are handling the up-front costs of the lawsuit in exchange for a portion of whatever the city can collect in damages from the Raiders and the league.

Gallo said:

“Oakland could potentially win $500 million in the lawsuit.”

The Raiders currently play at Oakland Coliseum and are under a year-to-year lease with Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority.

Coliseum Authority Executive Director Scott McKibben said the two sides are working on finalizing an extension to the lease for next season and the 2020 season, but Raiders’ executives told McKibben:

“We might as well take the contract and rip it up if the city pursues the antitrust lawsuit.”

The Chronicle reports the lease extension would make the city and county $3.7 million next season and $5 million the season after that, and the Coliseum Authority’s board is expected to vote on the deal within weeks.

If the Raiders do decide to leave after this season because of the lawsuit, they would still need to find a home for the 2019 season, since their Las Vegas stadium is not expected to be ready until the 2020 season at the earliest.

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