In the very near future it may be safe to wear my silver and black Bo Jackson jersey in public as the Raiders announced they are most definitely moving to Carson …
… with the chargers, into a new nfl stadium, if they don't strike deals to stay in their respective cities. [Writer's note: If there was a way to make that type even smaller I would.]
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Forget the disclaimers, it's on, baby! I mean, it's not like SoCal is the mistress and Oakland is the wife, with our man the Raiders saying, “Aw, come on baby, you know I only love you,” only to be teased and jilted time and again as he bounces back and forth. And don't even get me started about that ho San Jose.
No, no, he really means it this time. Better brush up on my history …
“We have both been working in our home markets to find a stadium solution for many years, so far unsuccessfully,” according to a joint statement issued by the Raiders and the Chargerettes. “We remain committed to continuing to work in our home markets throughout 2015 to try to find publicly acceptable solutions to the long-term stadium issue.
“… We are pursuing this stadium option in Carson for one straightforward reason: If we cannot find a permanent solution in our home markets, we have no alternative but to preserve other options to guarantee the future economic viability of our franchises.”
The time for alternatives is now as they are already talking about a proposed 72,000-seat, “next-generation” stadium to be built at Del Amo Boulevard and the 405 freeway. The Los Angeles Times is reporting the teams are planning private financing for the $1.7 billion facility that would include 18,000 parking spaces with room for tailgating (and the world's biggest fight ring when the Raiders and Bolts play each other).
Carson2gether, a business and labor coalition, is scheduled to hold a news conference today about getting the stadium ball rolling, starting with a petition drive to put the stadium plan before voters.
Pfft … voters. Who needs 'em? Done deal. Start printing the t-shirts. And creating a running game.
Email: mc****@oc******.com. Twitter: @MatthewTCoker. Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.