Oakland
Oakland Raiders Owner Mark Davis Doesn’t Have $500 Million For Las Vegas NFL Stadium
On Monday, October 17th, Oakland Raiders Owner Mark Davis will stand with Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, perhaps Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson, and other local elected officials (The Mayor of Las Vegas Carolyn Goodman has not put out an official statement about the Nevada Legislature signing the bill that would presumably provide the $750 million bond subsidy for an NFL Stadium), the media will write that ‘the Raiders are putting $500 million into the deal’.Watch. Well, the Raiders don’t have $500 million – or even $400 milion – to put into any deal in Las Vegas.
In 2014, at the NFL Owners Spring League Meeting held in Atlanta, and in Buckhead, Oakland Raiders Owners Mark Davis and I started talking about a stadium in Oakland.
It was my first lengthly conversation about anything with Mr. Davis, and so I was excited to have the chance, even after Oakland Raiders Team President Marc Badain was unusually defensive about me doing so, until I reminded him that as a fellow Oaklander with a long history that almost brought them the Super Bowl, we’re all like family. Badain then relaxed and we all had a cool talk.
I assumed Mark Davis knew the architect of the original Raiders Bond Deal that upgraded the Coliseum and even provided for a new headquarters for the team in Alameda, California, Oakland Assistant City Manager Ezra Rapport.
“No, I don’t know who that is,” Davis said. In fact, as we progressed in our conversation, I realized Mark didn’t know anything about the history of the Raiders with respect to relocation or the Oakland stadium situation at the time. But when it came to present day matters, Davis shifted his attitude gears and said “I know I have $400 million for a stadium in Oakland.”
After we finished our talk, I went over to the press conference room and made this video blog to report the news (beating the NFL Network in the process):
And then broke down what the $400 million would consist of:
- $200 million in the total amount in amortized stadium revenue from club seats and luxury suites he is willing to part with over a period of years – generally about 15 years to 30 years.
- $200 million in NFL G3 (now G4) loan money.
So that, obviously is not money that comes from the Raiders own revenue reserves, and not those of, say, Michaan’s Auctions in Alameda. What’s interesting is, the very next year, that amount jumped from $400 million to $500 million. It wasn’t due to anything other than Mark Davis deciding he was going to add an extra $100 million into the number spiel he was reciting to the media.
So, it was $500 million for San Antonio. And then it was $500 million for Carson. And now it’s $500 million for Las Vegas.
In point of fact, what the Raiders have is nothing, and especially in the Las Vegas case. Zero. And this is so not only because they don’t have a stadium under construction, but they don’t have one even approved. And in the Las Vegas case, the NFL Constitution (and this is noted in several areas of the document) specifically prohibits use of the loan for a project that “involve(s) any relocation of or change in an affected club’s ‘home territory.”
The Raiders “home territory” is Oakland, so from the perspective of the NFL Constitution, Davis can’t even correctly and officially say that the G4 loan money is available to him for the purpose of any Las Vegas Stadium Projects – but it’s certainly there if he works to build a stadium in Oakland.
But in either case, Mark Davis doesn’t have the money – he’s (to use an expression appropriate for Las Vegas) betting on the come.
Bay Area
Oakland Awarded $28 Million Grant from Governor Newsom to Sustain Long-Term Solutions Addressing Homelessness
Governor Gavin Newsom announced the City of Oakland has won a$28,446,565.83 grant as part of the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) grant program. This program provides flexible grant funding to help communities support people experiencing homelessness by creating permanent housing, rental and move-in assistance, case management services, and rental subsidies, among other eligible uses.
Governor Gavin Newsom announced the City of Oakland has won a$28,446,565.83 grant as part of the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) grant program.
This program provides flexible grant funding to help communities support people experiencing homelessness by creating permanent housing, rental and move-in assistance, case management services, and rental subsidies, among other eligible uses.
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and the Oakland City Administrator’s Office staff held a press conference today to discuss the grant and the City’s successful implementing of the Mayor’s Executive Order on the Encampment Management Policy.
Bay Area
Pamela Price Appoints Deputy D.A. Jennifer Kassan as New Director of Community Support Bureau
On Monday, District Attorney Pamela Price announced Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Kassan as the new director of the Community Support Bureau. Kassan has over 25 years of experience as an attorney and advisor for mission-driven enterprises including benefit corporations, low-profit limited liability companies, nonprofits, cooperatives, hybrid organizations, investment funds, and purpose trusts.
Special to The Post
On Monday, District Attorney Pamela Price announced Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Kassan as the new director of the Community Support Bureau.
Kassan has over 25 years of experience as an attorney and advisor for mission-driven enterprises including benefit corporations, low-profit limited liability companies, nonprofits, cooperatives, hybrid organizations, investment funds, and purpose trusts.
Working in the DA’s new administration since 2023, Kassan was most recently assigned to the Organized Retail Theft Prosecution team.
Kassan has a master’s degree in City Planning from the University of California, Berkeley. She received a National Science Foundation Fellowship from Yale Law School, and graduated from Yale Law School in 1995. She earned her B.A. in Psychology with a minor emphasis in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley.
Kassan’s education, extensive legal background, list of notable accomplishments and impressive resume includes helping to found and lead multiple organizations to support community wealth building including:
- Community Ventures, a nonprofit organization that promotes locally-based community economic development,
- the Sustainable Economies Law Center, a nonprofit that provides legal information, training, and representation to support sustainable economies
- the Force for Good Fund, a nonprofit impact investment fund
- Crowdfund Main Street, a licensed portal for regulation crowdfunding
- Opportunity Main Street, a place-based ecosystem building organization that supports under-represented entrepreneurs and provides education about community-based investing.
In addition, Kassan served as an elected member of the City Council of Fremont, California from 2018 to 2024, and on the Securities and Exchange Commission Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies.
In 2020 she was named to the list of World-Changing Women in Conscious Business by SOCAP Global.
“We are excited to see Jenny accept the role as the new leader for the Community Support Bureau,” said Price. “She brings a wealth of talent, experience, and a vision to expand our office’s engagement with community groups and residents, that will level-up our
outreach programs and partnerships with local organizations with the aim of promoting crime prevention.
“We thank Interim CSB Director Esther Lemus, who is now assigned to our office’s
Restitution Unit, for her hard work and a great job fostering positive relationships between the DAO and the community.”
Bay Area
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s Open Letter to Philip Dreyfuss, Recall Election’s Primary Funder
Oaklanders Defending Democracy, a group opposing the recall of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, shared an open letter she wrote to Philip Dreyfuss of Farallon Capital, a coal hedge fund. According to Thao’s supporters, “Dreyfuss is the primary funder of the recall effort to remove her from office. He has not explained his motivations or answered one question about why he’s funding the recall or what his agenda is for Oakland.
Special to The Post
Publishers note: Oaklanders Defending Democracy, a group opposing the recall of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, shared an open letter she wrote to Philip Dreyfuss of Farallon Capital, a coal hedge fund.
According to Thao’s supporters, “Dreyfuss is the primary funder of the recall effort to remove her from office. He has not explained his motivations or answered one question about why he’s funding the recall or what his agenda is for Oakland.
“All we know about him is his firm has invested over $2 billion in coal since 2022. Farallon Capital is a global hedge fund with $39 billion capital under management, headquartered in San Francisco, the supporters say.
The effort to recall Mayor Sheng Thao was built on top of an argument about a crime wave, pinning the blame for it on a newly elected Mayor. Now that crime has dropped massively, recall proponents are left with no compelling argument.
Oct. 30
Dear Philip Dreyfuss,
We haven’t met. As you know, I’m the Mayor of Oakland, elected in 2022 to serve and protect this city. Since stepping into office, I’ve tackled rising crime, homelessness, and budget challenges head-on, working tirelessly for Oakland’s future.
You are a hedge-fund manager and coal investor who doesn’t live in Oakland who is trying to buy our city government. But the people didn’t elect you, they elected me to protect them from people like you.
Shortly after my term began, you launched a campaign to remove me from office, pouring in nearly $500,000 of your own wealth. We’ll know the outcome of your campaign on Nov. 6, but let’s be clear about what’s at stake.
Since I took office, crime has dropped over 30%—we’re on track for less than 100 homicides for the first time since 2019, with 15,000 fewer crimes overall.
We’ve invested hundreds of millions into affordable housing, modernized our 911 system, streamlined construction permitting, and are fighting to make Oakland a safer and cleaner city.
If your recall succeeds, Oakland will see four mayors in just five years, another election for mayor the following year and a whopping $10 million cost to taxpayers. In other words, chaos. None of this will impact you because you don’t live here.
Oaklanders deserve to know who you are. I looked into your record and found that the hedge fund you help manage, Farallon Capital, has invested over $2 billion in coal since 2022.
For years, Oakland has stood tall against coal money threatening the health of West Oakland, Chinatown, Jack London and downtown.
Did you know that life expectancy in West Oakland is 7.5 years lower than the County average? Or that our children suffer from asthma at a rate twice as high as the rest of the County?
Philip, instead of trying to use your wealth to hijack our democracy and create chaos in our city you could have put your money where your mouth is.
Instead of investing in coal you could have invested in our young people—created scholarships for our college-bound kids, funded apprenticeships for those who want to learn a trade or helped rid our schools of lead.
Instead, you chose to divide us while you try to buy us. But I’m here to tell you, Philip, on behalf of the 450,000 residents of my city that Oakland is not for sale. NO to coal. NO to chaos. And NO to your selfish and self-serving recall.
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, City Hall, Oakland
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