Editor's note: Matt Maiocco is in Florida for the NFL owners meetings. Watch SportsNet Central tonight at 8 & 10:30pm for comprehensive coverage.
BOCA RATON, Fla. -- The Raiders have a long history with the Los Angeles site that is set to serve as the permanent home for the Rams and, likely, one other NFL team.
“I know the site very much,” Raiders owner Mark Davis said Monday at the NFL owners meetings. “I love the site. And I think it’s a great opportunity.”
Two decades before the Rams’ planned 298-acre sports and entertainment complex at Hollywood Park, late Raiders owner Al Davis reportedly had a handshake agreement that fell apart.
The Raiders have to wait in line for a year or possibly two before they have an opportunity to be included in the NFL's return to Southern California. Chargers chairman Dean Spanos has one year to get a new stadium deal with San Diego or decide whether to join Stan Kroenke’s Rams in Los Angeles. Spanos can extend the Chargers' L.A. priority by a year if a San Diego stadium referendum is approved by November to guard against legal challenges.
If the Chargers stay put, the Raiders go on the clock.
“I think L.A. is great,” Mark Davis said. “It’s up to Dean to make his determination, and we’ll give him the time to determine what he wants to do for his future, as well, because he has the same decisions to make. And we’ll see what happens. That’s really all we can do on that.”
In the meantime, when asked about the Raiders’ situation in Oakland, Davis said, “There’s nothing ... I’m still trying to get something with the stadium.”
Davis said he is interested to hear the details of the plan for the Los Angeles complex.
“I’d like to see what the final thing is going to be,” Davis said. “I don’t know how much development they’re putting on there. To me, I’ve always said, for the Raiders, the most important thing is ingress, egress and parking. I don’t know whether they’re going to create that there. And you know how L.A. is.
Davis reiterated that St. Louis, who lost the Rams to Los Angeles, is definitely not the right fit for the Raiders.
“The Raiders brand is a different brand, I believe,” Davis said. “I just don’t believe St. Louis would maximize it.
“I just don't feel it in my heart that that’s where the Raiders are going to be and wherever we put this stadium will be for the rest of my life. And I just want it to be the right fit.”
Davis doesn't have interest in St. Louis, but has considered Las Vegas a viable prospect for his team. He met with prospective Las Vegas stadium developers in late January and Nevada public officials after that.
When asked if Las Vegas could maximize the Raiders, Davis answered, “I think the Raiders would maximize Las Vegas.”
