One of the strangest questions facing the NFL at the moment is this one: Just where on earth will the Raiders play football in 2019? The word “earth” in that question is literal as the Silver and Black Attack can’t seem to find a temporary solution for home games until the team’s new stadium in Las Vegas opens in 2020 and the city of Oakland has, for the most part, told the franchise to pound sand. The continuing saga of the once Oakland Raiders, including a handful of far-fetched scenarios, bad vibes, and lawsuits, is almost too ridiculous to believe.
The franchise’s lease with Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum – one of the oldest stadiums current in use in the NFL – officially expired on Wednesday, February 13. However, the relationship between team owner Mark Davis and city officials over an anti-trust and breach of contract allegations, nixing any chance the team to stay in Oakland for the 2019 campaign.
Among the sensible solutions to the Raider’s sudden orphancy is to play 2019 in the Bay Area, either at Oracle Park in a scenario that would see the NFL team share the stadium with the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball, or sharing Levi Stadium with the San Francisco 49ers. However, San Francisco mayor London Breed voiced her opposition to the idea of the Raiders in San Fran during an interview on February 12 on KTVU Channel 2.
“As far as I’m concerned, the Oakland Raiders should play in Oakland,” Breed said. “In San Francisco, we have a number of challenges that we need to address with the Warriors coming to the new Chase arena, the 1,400 housing units set to break ground in that area, our transportation system and our ferry landing, we have a number of things we have been working to prepare for, and we don’t need another layer to add to what we already have in terms of an area that’s really congested, filled with construction and will host a number of games for basketball and baseball over the coming months.”
Update on the #Raiders stadium situation: #49ers are still not expected to waive their territorial rights for San Francisco, sources say. With the SF Mayor going public against the Raiders playing at Oracle Park, SF is off the table. It’s Oakland or Levi’s Stadium for the Raiders
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 6, 2019
With the Raiders officially homeless for the 2019 season, civic leaders and sports journalists around the nation have begun lobbying for their city as a temporary home, including Phoenix, Portland, Seattle, St. Louis, Stanford University. One of the most intriguing, if not slightly odd, scenarios is a two-city plan that would split the Raiders between Tuscon, Arizona, and Birmingham, Alabama.
Under the new plan, the cities would split the hosting duties for the #Raiders next season. https://t.co/UxbAeB2L4x
— azcentral sports (@azcsports) February 12, 2019
Further complicating matters is the fact that the Raiders will play two home games out of the country in London and Mexico City, leaving only seven home games on the 2019 schedule.
So, just where will the Raiders play next season? Let us know where you would like to see the Silver and Black play in the comments below or on the Tailgater Magazine Facebook page.