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Raiders owner says team is ‘trying to get something done in Oakland’

Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis laughs during a news conference on Jan. 16.
(Ben Margot / Associated Press)
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The Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers said their joint proposal to build a $1.7-billion stadium in Carson hinges upon whether they are able to work out new stadium deals in their home markets.

The Raiders and Chargers claim they are trying to work with officials in their cities to avoid relocation, a point that was reiterated by Raiders owner Mark Davis.

“We’re still trying to get something done in Oakland,” Davis told CSN Bay Area. “I’ve got options A, B, C and D out there. This is an awesome opportunity to work with the Chargers to try and get something done.

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“Really, it’s just another part of the process. But again, we’re trying to get something done in Oakland.”

The new stadium plan in Carson appears to be a bargaining chip in Davis’ effort to get Oakland to realize how serious the franchise is about having a new stadium. So far, the extravagant stadium proposal seems to be working in generating some support for keeping the Raiders in Oakland.

“There’s a fire that needs to be lit under both the city of Oakland and the county,” Oakland Councilman Larry Reid told The Times on Friday.

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Still, other Oakland and Alameda County officials are against moving forward on a stadium plan for the Raiders and Oakland Athletics that would cost more than $2 billion and require a public subsidy.

“We want to make sure we protect the public’s dollars,” Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley told the San Jose Mercury News on Friday.

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