iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — ESPN reports NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wrote to Oakland Mayor Libby Schaff, criticizing Oakland’s solution to keep the Raiders in their city while NFL owners are preparing to vote on whether to allow the franchise to move to Las Vegas.
In the letter Goodell sent Friday, which was obtained by ESPN, the NFL commissioner claims:
“The material that we reviewed earlier today … confirms that key issues that we have identified as threshold considerations are simply not resolvable in a reasonable time… and in that respect, the information sent today does not present a proposal that is clear and specific, actionable in a reasonable time frame and free of major contingencies.”
ESPN reports Goodell sent the letter on the same day Oakland and its partners submitted a revised financial plan to fund a new stadium. In the proposal, the city would construct a $1.3 billion mixed-use stadium on the southern edge of the Oakland Alameda Coliseum, which the Raiders and Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball currently share.
Goodell added that he has concerns about Oakland having two professional teams, saying, “The long-term nature of the commitment to the A’s remains a significant complication, and the resolution of that issue remains unknown.”
Other cities, such as Seattle, Baltimore, and Arlington, Texas, have multiple professional clubs with similar set ups to what is being proposed by Oakland.
The Raiders need two thirds of NFL owners to vote yes (24 of 32) to receive approval for a move. Owners can vote as early as Monday on Raiders’ owner Mark Davis’ application to move the team to Las Vegas.
Las Vegas has already pledged $750 million in public funding to build a new stadium for the team.
The Raiders moved back and forth from Oakland to Los Angeles over its 58 season-franchise history, spending 45 of them in Oakland.
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