Chris Dobbins, the Oakland-based lawyer who sits on the board of directors of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Joint Powers Authority, was the guest on Zennie62 YouTube Live, Monday, June 4th, at 8:30 PM PST.
The talk, which lasted for just over an hour of the 1:22:55 livestream that you can watch above, was wide-ranging, but started with updates on the Oakland Raiders Lease Extension negotiations. Dobbins confirmed that, while there was word that the Raiders had sought a temporary stadium solution in San Diego, that they were going to remain in Oakland until the Las Vegas Stadium is ready. “(Coliseum JPA Executive Director) Scott McKibben has been meeting with them,” Dobbins said, “there’s a deadline of June 30th. We’re (the Coliseum JPA) going to meet on June 15th, and we’ll see where it goes from there.”
Dobbins also explained that “there are a lot of people upset with the Raiders” (over the NFL’s Las Vegas Relocation decision that will cost Oakland 2,000 jobs per game when they leave), but the board’s feelings range from (former Oakland Councilmember) Ignacio De La Fuente, who wanted to give them a less costly deal in (exchange for some concessions), to Oakland District Seven Councilmember Larry Reid, who at one point just plain “Wanted the Raiders outta here,” Dobbins said, but has since softened his feelings enough to get a lease deal done with the NFL team.
On the matter of the Athletics, Dobbins said the A’s made a political mistake in trying to push a stadium development at Laney College, which didn’t want it. The Oakland lawyer remarked that the best place for a new Oakland A’s Stadium was The Coliseum, not Howard Terminal, in his personal view. “You have a place (in the Coliseum Complex) with an amazing advantage, close to the airport,” Dobbins said, “right off the freeway, why not use it?”
Oakland Coliseum Naming Rights Hangups
Dobbins also informed Zennie62 fans that Mr. McKibben has been working on a naming rights agreement but has not been able to find a partner to date. When this blogger asked why, Dobbins said “Money. We want more money. We’ve got, what, $1.5 million per year in our last deal? Dobbins feels the Coliseum can get a better agreement than it’s had in the past.
Will Oakland File A Lawsuit Against The Raiders And The NFL?
The most-asked question on the Zennie62 on YouTube Livestream Show, was if the Coliseum JPA or the City of Oakland and, or Alameda County were going to file a lawsuit against the Oakland Raiders and the National Football League. Dobbins said that the Coliseum JPA itself did not have the board votes to proceed with a lawsuit last fall. “I voted for it, the County of Alameda members (on the Coliseum board of directors) voted for it. But the City-side (referring to the City of Oakland representatives on the Coliseum JPA) didn’t want to do it,” Dobbins said. Now, the City’s trying to determine if they’re going to do it, and I don’t know where they are with that.
Two Oakland City Hall sources recently told Zennie62Media that the City was “close” to filing a lawsuit, but did not define what “close” meant – next week, or next month?
Zennie62 on YouTube Livestream Show Sunday – Thursday
The Zennie62 on YouTube Livestream Show is Sunday through Thursday of each week and generally at 8:30 PM PST / 11:30 PM EST. Subscribe to Zennie62 on YouTube and then press the notifications bell to receive a message when the livestream starts. You can also view the livestream directly from the Zennie62Media blogs Zennie62.com, Oakland News Online, and Oakland News Now.
On Wednesday, June 6ths, Zennie62Media’s guest on the Zennie62 on YouTube Livestream Show will be Rick Velotta of the Las Vegas Review Journal, and at 8:30 PM PST. We will talk about the progress of the Raiders Las Vegas Relocation, and also how Las Vegas itself is changing, as it seems to be losing its iron grip on the gambling industry.
Stay tuned.