Opinion ID: 2599829
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Facts Leading to the Raiders' Move from Los Angeles

Text: The Oakland Raiders is a professional football team owned by Al Davis, with a membership in the National Football League (NFL), which is an unincorporated association governed by its own constitution and bylaws. After the Raiders relocated to Los Angeles from Oakland in 1982, they played their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum until 1995. Unlike newer stadiums, the Coliseum's facilities did not permit the team to derive revenues from items such as luxury suites, club seats, naming rights, or other sponsorships. Throughout the end of 1994 and the first half of 1995, the Raiders negotiated with individuals representing Hollywood Park, a racetrack, for the construction of a new, state-of-the-art stadium in Inglewood in Southern California. In March 1995, the parties reached an agreement that required the Raiders to secure from the NFL a contribution of $20 million and a commitment that at least two Super Bowl games would be played in the new stadium at Hollywood Park between 2000 and 2004. The NFL, however, offered only to schedule one Super Bowl at Hollywood Park during the period in question. The NFL proposed to invest some money in the project, but less than the Raiders had requested. It offered to provide additional assistance on the condition that a second NFL team be permitted to play at the stadium for several years. In May 1995, the NFL adopted Resolution FC-7, which, among other things, awarded two Super Bowls to the planned Hollywood Park stadium conditioned on two NFL teams playing there and created a committee to negotiate with both the Raiders and Hollywood Park concerning a second NFL team. The new committee developed terms to permit a second NFL team to play in the Los Angeles region, but those terms were inconsistent with the Raiders' goals, and the Raiders perceived them as favoring the second team. As a result, the Raiders entered into an agreement with the City of Oakland in June 1995 to move to the renovated Oakland Coliseum. The agreement included an up-front $64 million payment to the Raiders and immediately enhanced revenue streams. Al Davis, the Raiders' owner, testified that Oakland officials assured him that personal seat licenses and game tickets would sell out.