Raiders willing to discuss playing in Oakland next season

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Don’t close the door on the Raiders playing one final season in Oakland just yet.

The Raiders will meet with the Coliseum Authority one last time to discuss possibly playing at the Coliseum in 2019 before leaving for Las Vegas, the Bay Area News Group has learned.

“Yes, there still is a possibility that an agreement can be reached, (I’m) not sure what the odds are, but still possible,” said Scott McKibben, executive director of the Coliseum Authority.

Since backing out of a tentative lease in Oakland a little more than a month ago when it was sued by the city, the Raiders have explored playing next season at a number of places. They’ve discussed staying in the Bay Area at Levi’s Stadium, Oracle Park in San Francisco or even Cal. They’ve also talked about San Diego or London.

CBS Sports’ Jason LaCanfora reported Saturday the Raiders would most likely play either at Levi’s or at Oracle Park next season. But considering owner Mark Davis has never seemed interested in sharing a stadium with the rival 49ers, the Giants’ stadium or the Coliseum seem like the Raiders’ best local options.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has indicated the league would like to know the Raiders’ plans for next season “by early January, February,” for 2019 scheduling purposes.

But before making a decision, though, the Raiders will at least entertain the idea of another season at the Coliseum.

“Once the Raiders have completed all their research on other places we will sit down and talk one last time,” McKibben said.

McKibben didn’t indicate when he expected the meeting with the Raiders to happen, but one source told the Bay Area News Group it could be held as early as sometime this week.

The Raiders didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The plan all along was for the Raiders to spend their farewell season at the Coliseum in 2019, but the team abruptly pulled out of a tentative lease agreement on Dec. 12 after the City of Oakland filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the NFL and the Raiders.

The original lease deal would have more than doubled the Raiders’ Coliseum rent next season — after paying a reported $3.5 million in rent this season, the Raiders would have paid $7.5 million to spend 2019 in Oakland. There was also an option to play at the Coliseum in 2020 if the Raiders’ $1.9 billion Las Vegas Stadium wasn’t ready in time.

That all changed with the lawsuit that charged the Raiders and the league with antitrust violations in light of the team’s impending move to Nevada. However, even after the team backed out of the Coliseum stadium deal for next season, Davis seemed conflicted.

“Emotionally, I don’t want to pay for my own lawsuit,” Davis said last month, when asked if he would return to the Coliseum for one last season. “But for the fans, it’s something I’ve got to think about.”

Now he’s ready to talk about it.

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