The Oakland Raiders have reported a plan to have a Bay Area home for the 2019 NFL season, but it will not be in Oakland.
The team wants to play its home games at Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, according to NBC Bay Area.
The Raiders are currently without a lease to a stadium after the team’s lease at the Oakland Coliseum expired following the 2018 season.
The San Francisco 49ers hold territorial rights to the area although the Raiders have settled on the Giants’ stadium for the upcoming season. The Raiders will need the NFL’s approval to finalize the decision. The Raiders would remain in Oakland in 2019 if the decision was up to San Francisco mayor London Breed.
Breed cited the Giants’ schedule and the impending move of the Golden State Warriors to San Francisco as reasons why the city will be too congested.
“As far as I’m concerned, the Oakland Raiders should play in Oakland,” Breed told KTVU.
The Raiders playing in San Francisco would create an interesting, although a not unprecedented scenario where the team would retain the “Oakland” surname without playing any of its games in the city of Oakland.
The 49ers, with “San Francisco” in their name, play in Santa Clara. Both the New York Giants and Jets share a stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.
The Raiders will officially change the team name to “Las Vegas Raiders” in 2020 when the team moves to Nevada.
In Dec. 2018, the city of Oakland filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the Raiders and the NFL seeking maximum damages for lost revenue stemming from the team’s planned move to Las Vegas, according to USA TODAY.
The lawsuit alleged that when the Raiders’ plan to move to Las Vegas was approved by NFL owners in 2017, it violated the NFL’s antitrust by “boycotting Oakland,” according to USA TODAY.
For an NFL franchise to relocate, the proposal needs to pass by a three-fourths vote of the NFL’s 32 owners according to article 4.3 of the NFL bylaws. The Raiders’ proposal passed 31 to one, with Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross abstaining.
When the city filed the lawsuit, it seemed to end any chance of the of the Raiders playing in Oakland. The only other viable options in the Bay Area are Levi’s Stadium or Oracle Park, both of which would require NFL approval.
The Raiders prefer the Giants’ stadium, as made clear by the NBC Bay Area report.
If the Raiders ultimately do play their seven home games in the Giants’ stadium, it would create a conundrum that the Oakland Athletics are familiar with.
The 2019 NFL season is tentatively scheduled to begin on Sept. 5, which is the final month of Major League Baseball’s regular season.
The Giants would have to share their field with the Raiders for that month, which can affect field conditions for both sports.