An Oakland Raiders fan holds a "stay" sign during their NFL game against the against the Kansas City Chiefs at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif, on Sunday, Dec. 6, 2015. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) ( JANE TYSKA )

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

That's the approach East Bay officials, led by Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, have taken to the Raiders owner Mark Davis' threat to once again move the football team south.

They're to be commended for standing firm, for holding to their promise to first protect the public purse. They've studied the films and they've seen this Davis play before, last time executed by the Mark's father, Al.

For more than two decades, Oakland fans had poured their souls out as the American Football League team born in 1960 soared to Super Bowl champions in 1976 and 1980. Meanwhile, the city and county had built the team a new stadium, which opened in 1966.

But in 1982 the team abruptly upped and moved to Los Angeles. To lure them back in 1995, Oakland and Alameda County agreed to remodel the facility. It was to be financed by sales of personal seat licenses (remember those?).

We all know how well that worked out. In the end, it was taxpayers who were on the hook -- and still are on the hook for nearly $100 million.

Now Mark Davis is threatening to move the team south again. To stay, he wants full control of the entire publicly owned Coliseum site. Schaaf has offered him use of the southern half of the property, preserving the option to keep the Oakland A's in the northern section, and has stood firm that no taxpayer dollars will be put at risk.


In the words of guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend, "We don't get fooled again."

Of course, to move south, Davis needs the approval of the NFL, which is weighing competing proposals for Los Angeles-area stadiums, one from the Raiders and San Diego Chargers, the other from the St. Louis Rams.

If Davis and the NFL pause for a moment, they should realize how much they already have here: Incredibly loyal fans. An affluent region with a strong economy. An already approved development plan that includes environmental clearances. A stadium site with excellent public transit, freeway and airport access.

East Bay taxpayers should not, and cannot afford to, get into a bidding war for the Raiders. If NFL owners decide at their meeting Jan. 12-13 in Houston to let the Raiders go, so be it. We'll be sad to see them go.

But we'll sleep at night knowing that they had an excellent opportunity here, one that's fair to the team, to the league and to the taxpayers.