Where will the Raiders play in 2019? As of now, the team has no home after this season.
It’s a question that needs an answer soon. The Raiders have one home game left at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, which is December 24 against the Denver Broncos. Could it be their last in Oakland?
“Man, that is crazy,” Raiders quarterback Derek Carr said Wednesday. “To me, that just seems weird. It just seems different to even have to think that way, because I spent five years playing in this stadium.
“We have people talking trash about it and whatever they want, but I love it. It’s ours. It’s been fun. The fact that it could be the last is crazy, but when that time comes, we’ll enjoy it.”
While the team’s plans to move to Las Vegas in 2020 are set, its situation for next year is very much up in the air.
Originally, the team had planned to pay a one-year lease to play another season in Oakland.
However, on Tuesday, the city of Oakland filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL and the Raiders, seeking damages, including lost revenue, money that Oakland taxpayers invested in the Raiders and other costs, for the team leaving.
The city argues that the NFL violated federal antitrust laws by approving the Raiders move to Las Vegas. Oakland is not asking the court to block the Raiders move, but the city is seeking the maximum amount of damages available.
Davis has called the lawsuit “meritless and malicious,” according to ESPN. Per CNN affiliate KRON, team president Marc Badain said that because of the lawsuit, the option of leasing at the Coliseum is “off the table.”
Davis, however, told reporters at the NFL team owners meeting in Irving, Texas that he hasn’t ruled out playing in Oakland next year.
“Emotionally I don’t want to pay for my own lawsuit,” Davis said, according to the Washington Post. “But for the fans, it’s something that I’ve got to think about.”
The NFL has not directly commented on the lawsuit. On Wednesday, commissioner Roger Goodell said the league will need to know where the Raiders are going to play for scheduling purposes by early January or February.
Cities that have been mentioned as potential temporary options include Santa Clara, where the San Francisco 49ers play; San Diego, which currently has a vacant stadium with the Chargers’ departure to Los Angeles; another site in Las Vegas as the team waits for construction on its new stadium to be completed or San Antonio.
Per the Washington Post, Davis said he’s not a fan of the idea of his team playing on artificial turf at the Alamodome in San Antonio. However, he added, he’s not ruling anything out.
“Everything’s an option right now,” Davis said.