SAN FRANCISCO –- The Raiders are currently negotiating a short-term lease extension with O.co Coliseum. Sources made that clear on Thursday, and a year is the likely length.
That provides maximum flexibility to the team and the city of Oakland, sides that are trying to find a stadium solution that keeps the Raiders permanently in the East Bay.
That has proven a difficult task for city and team, the latter of which is exploring stadium options outside its current market.
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SIGN UP HERE The Raiders have looked at San Antonio and Las Vegas, and applied for relocation to Los Angeles this year. The team was rebuffed in favor of the Rams, who are moving forward with a stadium proposal in Inglewood. The Chargers have an option to be the second team in that stadium, but promised to stay in San Diego for 2016 in hopes of finding a stadium there. The Raiders are next in line should the Bolts stay put.
The Raiders’ outward focus is a long-term plan. The short-term solution seems to be another year in Oakland. Those talks are on the table.
"It's my impression that's the Raiders' priority," Schaff told Bay Area News Group on Monday. "That's the communications that I've heard from them. Of course, I'm anxious to get them back to the table to talk about a new stadium."
The Raiders haven’t sparked stadium talks since a Jan. 12 NFL owners meeting where Los Angeles relocation was decided and the Silver and Black were forced to rescind their relocation application.
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L.A. is still in play for the Raiders, who are expected to exercise their Inglewood option if it’s provided.
The Raiders insist their out-of-market exploration is not a leverage play, and that they’re legitimately interested in other options after Oakland has declined to provide the accouterments owner Mark Davis requires. He wants control of the entire O.co Coliseum site, which puts baseball’s Oakland Athletics in a bind.
"I'm working very hard with the A's, who actually are very excited about staying in Oakland, building a new ballpark," Schaff said. "Now for me, I would love to get them closer to downtown. We have a great site on the water and that would obviously make my Raiders situation less complicated.
"It would make more land available, a lot more flexibility with regard to development, so yes that is part of the puzzle dealing with the A's, because I want to keep both my teams. I love them both. I'm trying to work hard to not do anything with one team that disadvantages the other team. I want to make sure they both feel honored and valued, but I think it would be great to get the A's down to the water in Oakland."