Will Raiders Play in San Antonio?

As of now, the Oakland Raiders are still planning on being the Oakland Raiders. At least for a few more seasons. But the question people are asking is how will Oakland fans react to their team? They already know the Raiders will be moving to Las Vegas once the new stadium is built. The team is hopeful it will be ready for the 2019 season, but delays have been known to happen. Some believe the 2020 season is more likely.

Will Oakland fans still support the team? Or will they follow the advice of the Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green?

“If I were the fans, I wouldn’t attend a game for the next three years,” Green said last week. “No way I’d pay my money to attend a game.”

The Raiders’ contract with the Oakland Coliseum ends after 2018. It would be foolish to expect Oakland to be doing any favors for Mark Davis. The city losses money each year the Raiders play in Oakland. The Raiders paid $3.5 million to play in the Coliseum last year. The actual cost is about $16.5 million when security is included.

It’s never been better to lose an NFL team,” Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority Executive Director Scott McKibben told Bloomberg. “In terms of pure dollars and cents, operationally, it’s to our benefit.”

The Raiders are preparing for different scenarios, one of which would see them temporarily move to San Antonio, Texas. San Antonio has told the Raiders they are welcome to use The Alamodome, which holds 65,000 people.  San Antonio wanted the Raiders to move to San Antonio on a permanent basis. This is their chance to show the NFL they can support a team.

Other options for the Raiders are to play at the 49ers’ Levi Stadium. The stadium was built to host two teams and is an option.

Playing at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas is unlikely. The stadium only holds 40,000 fans and is severely outdated by NFL standards. That makes San Antonio or Levi’s Stadium the two leading options.