Council Calls for Strong Regional Effort to Keep Raiders
The Bay Area Council responded quickly to a decision by the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee on Thursday (Sept. 15) approving $750 million in public funding for a new stadium as part of an effort by Nevada and Las Vegas to lure Council member the Oakland Raiders away from the Bay Area. In a statement, the Council called for a strong regional response to keep the Raiders.
“We need to fight like crazy to keep the Raiders in Oakland,” said Jim Wunderman, President and CEO of the Bay Area Council. “The Raiders are as much a part of the East Bay and the Bay Area as the Bay Bridge, Mount Diablo or any other iconic fixture from our region. They were born here, they belong here and we should keep them here. The Raiders are an important part of the Bay Area’s rich professional sports history and they contribute immensely to the cultural fabric of our region, to our communities and to our economy. They’ve won three championships here and they’re poised for a resurgence. The Raiders deserve a modern stadium like many other professional teams here that have succeeded in building 21st century facilities. We watched the Raiders leave once and we shouldn’t let them go again without fighting our hardest to keep them.”
