Support Erodes for Return of Raiders to Oakland, Poll Says

The majority of Oakland voters who have no interest in bringing the Raiders back from Los Angeles has risen slightly to 63%, pollsters said today.

A new Tribune-Gallup Poll said the number of voters who don’t care about negotiating a new Raider contract went up 4% in a May 10-14 poll from last February’s 59%.

The Raiders consider their Oakland fan support solid.

“It looks like nothing’s changed,” Raiders partner Jack Brooks, the team’s chief negotiator, said. “I think that’s a pretty good response, if we have that many people in Oakland interested in the Raiders. The stadium only holds 64,000.”

In the latest poll, 46% of the respondents considered it “not at all important” to complete a new deal to bring back the Raiders and 17% said it was “not too important;” 14% said it was “very important” and 20% said it was “somewhat important.” Only 3% had no opinion.

The telephone poll of 600 registered Oakland voters had a sampling error margin of 4%.

The protracted negotiations over moving the team back to its original home appears to be costing Oakland Mayor Lionel Wilson. Voters feel the deal has been handled poorly, and many blame Wilson, who is seeking reelection.

About 13% in the latest poll said they had a worse attitude toward Wilson because of his performance in the Raider dealings.

Wilson was not initially a strong Raider deal backer.