Policy Says Davis Took Easier Road

Raider owner Al Davis said in June 1995 that he was taking his team back to Oakland because “it was too tough to put everything together in Los Angeles,” a member of the NFL’s 1995 stadium committee testified Thursday.

Carmen Policy said Davis told him that Oakland offered a deal in which he would not have to get involved in selling luxury suites or club seating, as he would have to do at a proposed Hollywood Park stadium.

“He said, ‘Everything is done, everything is sold. All I have to do is bring the team there,’ ” said Policy, president and minority owner of the Cleveland Browns.

Policy testified in the trial of a lawsuit that claims the NFL was trying to force the Raiders out of the Los Angeles market by requiring a second team at the proposed stadium in suburban Inglewood.

At the time, Policy was among league members on a special committee established to negotiate with Hollywood Park’s owners and the Raiders, who ultimately left Los Angeles and returned to Oakland.

His testimony suggested that Davis moved for his own reasons and actually thought the NFL should still try to put a team at Hollywood Park because it was a good opportunity.

“He said don’t let the deal fall through,” Policy said.

Policy said Davis could have blocked a second club from playing at the proposed stadium if he had agreed to have only one Super Bowl played there.

Davis, however, believed the deal would require a second Super Bowl to help sell luxury suites and club seats, Policy said.

Policy testified that there was little chance a second team would ever play at a Hollywood Park stadium and he told Davis that in a number of conversations about the negotiations.

Davis told Policy he still preferred not to have a second team as part of the deal, the witness said.

Davis did say he wanted to keep the Raiders in Los Angeles and was not after “the best buck” opportunity available by possibly moving the team, Policy noted.

Policy said he believed that Los Angeles was really only a one-team market and made his position clear to other members of the league.

His testimony disputed the Raiders’ claims that they were excluded from the negotiations.

“Was there some effort to exclude the Raiders from this process?” NFL attorney Allen Ruby asked Policy.

“That was not our intention,” the witness said. “You couldn’t keep him in the dark if you wanted.”

Policy said he kept in regular contact with Davis and carried suggestions by Davis to other members of the committee.

Policy said he had a substantial number of telephone calls with Davis in the weeks surrounding a key June 1, 1995, meeting in Denver with Hollywood Park executive R.D. Hubbard.

NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue on Wednesday disputed the Raiders’ claim that the team had paid the league money for the Los Angeles market.

“Did the Raiders ever pay $46 million for the Los Angeles opportunity?” Ruby asked Tagliabue.

“No,” Tagliabue said during his final day of testimony.