Oakland mayor, fans urge Raiders to stay put

OAKLAND - Mayor Libby Schaaf, business leaders and about 100 Raider fans held a rally at the Coliseum on Saturday to make their pitch about why the team should stay in Oakland.

The rally comes two days before NFL owners are expected to vote on whether the Raiders can move to Las Vegas, as owner Mark Davis has proposed. Davis needs 24 of 32 owners to approve the relocation.

With a dozen die-hard fans behind her, Schaaf told the crowd that in 1981 her mother let her skip school to watch the Raiders Super Bowl parade. The team moved to Los Angeles the following year.

“I remember being a little girl cheering and crying at the same time because my beloved Raiders were being taken from my city,” Schaaf said. “We are not going to let that happen again.”

NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott and his investment group have proposed building a $1.3 billion stadium at the Coliseum, which includes hotels, restaurants and room for an Oakland Athletics ballpark. In Las Vegas, Davis is proposing using $750 million in taxpayer money and a $650 million loan from Bank of America to help build a $1.9 billion stadium.