The Raiders’ relocation conversation is finally over. They’re headed to Las Vegas.
Considering Mark Davis plans to keep the Raiders in Oakland for at least another year, the organization now faces a PR campaign of epic proportions and fans in Oakland certainly deserve to know what happened.
From the standpoint of Mark Davis, the tipping point apparently came when the Oakland City Council and the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority chose to triple the Raiders rent in the days following Davis’ failed attempt to relocate to Los Angeles in March of 2016.
The Raiders rent was raised from $925,000 to $3.5 million and Davis wasn’t quick to forget.
Was it about the money? Only Davis knows, but since the Raiders owner didn’t raise ticket prices as a result, the answer is probably ‘no’. For Davis (and this is only a guess), the power play to get more money from the Raiders (at the organization’s lowest point) was likely enough to sever his already damaged relationship with the city.
Seem strange? It shouldn’t.
The younger Davis isn’t his father, but he does have a strong stubborn streak and the city probably overplayed it’s hand at the worst possible moment. Remember, Mark once fired his director of public relations in the aftermath of an unflattering Sports Illustrated article written about his father.
After the rent hike, Davis essentially fired the city of Oakland. He wasn’t interested in leverage games and decided he was no longer willing to play nicely.
On Monday, he picked up his toys and left.
twitter: @raidersbeat
