Marcus Allen made some noise today when he said that the answer to the Raiders' ongoing stadium saga might be a return to Los Angeles. While the Davis family has made no mention of it and, as far as anyone knows, this is simply an idea that Allen is floating around, it makes a lot of sense. After all, they've already left Oakland for LA once. And the NFL desperately wants a team in the second-largest media market in the U.S., so you'd figure the league office would be much more on board than they were in 1982.
One of the primary reasons the Raiders went back to the Bay Area after their 14-year sojourn south is because Al Davis wanted to build a new stadium in LA and the NFL wouldn't let him. So, he convinced officials in the City of Oakland to renovate the Coliseum (and turn it into the crappiest venue in two leagues) with the promise of returning the Raiders to Oakland. But now, the Oakland Coliseum is an even bigger hole (and not the "Black" kind) than it was 20 years ago.
The Oakland Coliseum is the only stadium shared by an NFL and an MLB team. Except both the A's and the Raiders aren't happy, and they're both looking to leave. The A's repeatedly tried to get approval for a new stadium in San Jose before they finally gave up and agreed to a 10-year lease to stay at the Coliseum. So with the A's locked in, it looks like the Oakland Coliseum isn't going anywhere. And that's bad news for the Raiders. Because Mark Davis, Al's son and the current owner's, grand idea was for the Raiders to be the anchor tenant in a new stadium built on the Coliseum grounds (which would've been feasible if the Giants hadn't prevented the A's from getting their new stadium in San Jose). With that plan out the window, the Raiders are back to the same problem: they're stuck in a crappy stadium and looking for a way out.
Roger Goodell offered one solution. He suggested that the Raiders share the 49ers' new Levi's Stadium, much like the Giants and Jets share MetLife Stadium. But the Raiders have no interest in that plan. The Raiders hate the 49ers, and Mark Davis refuses to be their tenants. In Al Davis's eyes, there were the Raiders and there was everybody else. And Al Davis would be rolling over in his grave to see his Raiders sharing their stadium with another football team, let alone the 49ers!
So, outside of moving across the Bay to San Francisco (which will never happen) or to one of the Oakland suburbs, there's only one logical place for the Raiders to move and get their stadium. Los Angeles. And this time, there wouldn't be any resistance to such a move.
It's no secret that the NFL wants to return to Los Angeles. There used to be two teams there. There hasn't been any since 1995. When the Texans came into the league seven years later, LA was actually the first choice for the expansion franchise, but they couldn't come up with an acceptable stadium deal and picked Houston instead. Ever since then, the talk has been about how to get back in LA. An expansion franchise wouldn't make sense, nor is it on the NFL's agenda, so the only way for LA to get a new team would be for someone to move. And the only team that would be acceptable in that area is the Raiders. It's a win-win scenario.
As for the stadium, that wouldn't be a problem. In fact, there are at least two proposed stadiums ready to be built. They just need a team to play there, then the construction can start. During their time in Southern California, the Raiders played at the LA Coliseum. That's probably not a long-term option now. But is it conceivable that the Raiders could return to the LA Coliseum for a year or two before Farmers Field (or another hypothetical stadium) is completed? Absolutely!
Moving the Raiders back would give the NFL the LA team it so badly wants. It would also help if that team were the Raiders. Because they owned the town during the 1980s, and this time they'd be the only show in town (well, them and USC, which has been LA's de facto NFL team for 20 years). Plus, they've already got the fan base from their previous stay in the area (if there are any worries about fans coming back, they can ask the Winnipeg Jets). Then there's the potential financial windfall and plethora of sponsorship opportunities that would come with playing the nation's second-largest city! (And you know NBC would love the celebrity sightings at Sunday night games!)
From a football perspective, a change of scenery might be exactly what the Raiders need, too. What used to be one of the NFL's most consistently successful franchises has turned itself into a laughingstock. The Raiders haven't been relevant since they made the Super Bowl 15 years ago, and it doesn't look like they're going to be competitive in the AFC West again this season.
But a move back to LA would get people talking about them for a good reason once again. And who knows, maybe it would galvanize a once-proud team that has been languishing for way too long. After all, it worked once before. The Raiders moved to LA in 1982 and won the Super Bowl in 1983.
Whether that can/will happen again remains to be seen, but just think of the possibilities of a revived Los Angeles Raiders.
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