City documents show extensive work on Raiders deal

Recommended Video:

SAN ANTONIO — Leading up to Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis' visit here last month, city officials quietly and feverishly prepared for his arrival, updated an NFL relocation study and war-gamed a potential move by the NFL team to San Antonio.

Documents obtained Tuesday by the San Antonio Express-News show a much more concerted effort to attract the Raiders than previously has been disclosed.

A Raiders move to San Antonio still is considered a long shot by those with knowledge of the matter, but the city appears to have presented itself as a superior landing spot should the Bay Area franchise decide to relocate, and strong relationships between Davis and local leaders could help spur the deal.

In the several weeks preceding the July 18 weekend — when Davis, Raiders Chief Operating Officer Marc Badain and Larry Delsen, a business manager and CPA, visited with the city's highest-ranking officials and business leaders — city staff conducted significant analysis of a potential deal and others worked to ensure that the weekend would be a “once in a lifetime” tour.

2058 x 2699~~$~~Oakland Raiders owners Mark Davis, right, laughs on the sideline with general manager Reggie McKenzie, left, during their NFL football training camp on Friday, July 25, 2014, in Napa, Calif. 2058 x 2699~~$~~Oakland Raiders owners Mark Davis, right, laughs on the sideline with general manager Reggie McKenzie, left, during their NFL football training camp on Friday, July 25, 2014, in Napa, Calif. Photo: AP Photo: AP Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close City documents show extensive work on Raiders deal 1 / 17 Back to Gallery

The documents obtained by the newspaper under the state's open-records law reveal just how much detail went into preparing for Davis' visit.

The city has asked the Texas attorney general whether San Antonio may withhold several pages of documents because releasing them now “could have a negative competitive impact on the city,” according to Di Galvan, the city's communications director.

Meanwhile, a source with knowledge of Davis' meetings in San Antonio discounted comments made by Spurs shareholder Charlie Amato, who said the five-time NBA champion team harbored concerns about a Raiders relocation and suggested that the Spurs purchase the Raiders. The source was not authorized to speak about the matter and asked to remain unnamed.

The Express-News previously has reported that Spurs owner Peter Holt had positive and fruitful conversations with Davis when he was here. The two met at Holt's Terrell Hills home July 19.

“Peter assured Mark that (the Spurs) would not be a roadblock to the Raiders relocating to San Antonio and would find ways to work with them,” the source said.

On Tuesday in Oxnard, California, where the Raiders held a joint practice with the Dallas Cowboys, Davis was asked to characterize the nature of his meeting with San Antonio officials.

“It was a serious conversation,” Davis told the San Francisco Chronicle. “I don't waste my time just having meetings. But we continue to try to get something done in Oakland.”

Documents provided by the city also show Davis and his executives met that night for dinner with former Mayor Henry Cisneros, and B.J. “Red” McCombs at his Olmos Park mansion.

The documents show the city spent $15,000 to re-engage with Premier Partnerships, a California-based sports-sales and advisory firm, which in 2011 studied the feasibility of pro sports in San Antonio.

The 2011 report said San Antonio wasn't ready for the NFL or Major League Baseball, in part because of the lack of Fortune 500 companies in town. But the updated analysis paints a different picture.

The consultant recommends “formalizing discussions with the ownership group of the Oakland Raiders,” and offers a series of recommended next steps, including:

Continuing to explore financial structures with ownership.

Meeting with NFL executives.

Finalizing renovation expenses for the Alamodome.

Included in a chain of emails between Mike Sawaya, the city's director of Convention, Sports and Entertainment Facilities, and Premier Partnerships consultants, is a spreadsheet that has identified $27.4 million in necessary upgrades to the Alamodome in order for the facility to meet NFL standards.

The document estimates the “build out” of 14 suites to be $1.8 million, the construction of an additional 44 suites to be $6 million, and the addition of a new sound system to be $3.5 million.

Such upgrades would come on top of $43 million in potential improvements the city would likely do if it wins another NCAA Final Four bid.

The study also details potential funding sources in the event the city entered into an agreement with the Raiders to build a new stadium.

The city has provided a substantial amount of documents to the Raiders since Davis' July visit.

Cisneros was the architect of the plan to show Davis what San Antonio has to offer. Cisneros' son-in-law played for the Raiders and now works in the team's front office.

But the ties between San Antonio and Oakland run even deeper.

Robert Marbut Jr., who worked as Cisneros' chief of staff, has been working on details of the deal. When Davis' late father, Al Davis, moved the Raiders from Los Angeles back to Oakland in the 1980s, Marbut helped facilitate the move.

Reached by phone Tuesday, Marbut, whose name appears in the documents obtained by the newspaper, declined to comment.

Those documents show city officials went to great lengths to ensure San Antonio had a positive impact on Davis. When he and his representatives checked in at the Grand Hyatt, they were treated to top-notch VIP service — including a corner suite for the Raiders owner and personalized notes from hotel management. It is unclear who paid for the hotel rooms and suite, but it was not the city, Galvan said.

They were wined and dined in a private room (with a private “dining captain”) at Ruth's Chris Steak House on their first night in town. Records show dinner, not including alcohol, topped $2,000 for 17 guests. The party was served New York strip, rib-eye streak, Ahi tuna stacks and barbecued shrimp. The $765 bar tab, which was paid for by the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, included four bottles of Magnificat wine, three bottles from the Jordan Vineyard & Winery and one Miller Lite.

Their weekend was packed. It included breakfast on a River Walk barge and a Sunday helicopter tour of potential stadium sites before Davis and his associates departed from McCombs' private hangar at International Airport.

Later, Sawaya followed up in an email to Badain.

“Marc — It was a real pleasure meeting you this weekend. I sincerely hope you had a positive impression of the prospects presented in San Antonio,” Sawaya wrote. “I did speak to City Manager, Sheryl Sculley, after your send-off meeting yesterday. We are meeting today to determine next steps, and will provide you with whatever follow-up documentation that is necessary to keep our dialogue moving. I am making plans to attend your training camp next week in Napa, and will be in touch very soon.”

A few days later, Sawaya rented a car at San Francisco International Airport and drove to Oakland.

On Tuesday, he downplayed his visit, saying he was headed to a convention in Portland, Ore., and had a lengthy layover in the Bay Area.

“I had this trip planned,” Sawaya said. “This was just a courtesy call to kind of keep the dialogue going, more than anything.”

jbaugh@express-news.net