Davis’ Testimony Concludes in Suit Against the NFL

Raider owner Al Davis concluded his testimony in the team’s $1-billion lawsuit against the NFL Monday by acknowledging the NFL is not entirely responsible for the Raiders’ declining financial fortunes in Oakland, but still adamant that the Raiders own the Los Angeles market and that the league undermined the Hollywood Park stadium proposal.

NFL attorney Allen Ruby asked Davis if the NFL played only “a tiny part” in the Raiders’ slide from sixth in the NFL in revenue in 1995--their first season in Oakland--to 28th in 1999.

“Not a large one,” Davis said. “But they did destroy that deal at Hollywood Park.”

The Raiders contend they are owed damages for revenue the team would have realized at Hollywood Park and for the expansion value of the Los Angeles market.

The Raiders will call their final witness today, an expert who will offer a calculation of damages--$700 million for the L.A. market and $590 million for lost revenue over a 20-year stadium lease had the Hollywood Park deal gone through, Raider attorney Joseph M. Alioto said.

The NFL will begin its defense Thursday after a day off Wednesday, and Judge Richard Hubbell told jurors in their sixth week of hearing testimony in Los Angeles Superior Court that the trial should conclude next week.

Much of Davis’ fifth and final day of testimony--marked by coy gazes at the jury--focused on ownership of other markets after teams moved.

Ruby, cross-examining Davis, raised the issue of cities left without teams after the departures of the Baltimore Colts, St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Oilers.

“In each instance, did the league own the expansion opportunities left behind?” Ruby asked.

“Turned out that way, yes,” said Davis, who contends the Raider case is different from a team that pays a fee to secure another market and move.

“When Houston went to Nashville, they had to pay the league a fee [because] the opportunity was more valuable than the one they gave up,” Davis said.

However, the crux of the Raider claim to the L.A. market stems from an antitrust case against the league in the 1980s. When the case settled, the Raiders were owed $64 million, but the team was paid only $18 million. The $46-million difference gives rise to the Raider position that they “paid” for the Los Angeles market.

Ruby also questioned whether the Raiders own the L.A. market because its estimated value of $600 million is not listed as an asset in the team’s audited financial statements.

Davis feigned a look through the financial records from different years, making a small show of humoring Ruby.

“I think it’s obvious it’s not in the financial statements,” he said.

With the end of the trial in sight, there was a humorous moment at the beginning of the shortened afternoon session when a juror accidentally flicked a pen out of the jury box toward Alioto, the Raider attorney.

“I’ll keep this short,” Alioto said, drawing laughter.