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Paradise lost Davis hasn't been happy since moving team back to Oakland
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- After years of animosity between the Oakland Raiders and the city that warily welcomed them back in 1995, can a playoff run help solve legal battles between the team and public officials? "The Raiders are winning, there's a lot of positive spirit in the city," Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown said. "All in all, it's a good time to strengthen our relationship." Raiders officials, persisting in claims that poor attendance has crippled them financially, don't seem ready for peace. "The mayor and his political friends are trying to grandstand," Raiders senior assistant Bruce Allen said. "We have an excellent relationship with the people in the city. But when you get specific about the local politicians, the relationship is less than poor." There have been several suits and counter suits among the Raiders, Oakland and Alameda County. In one, the team sought $1.1 billion in damages. Oakland and Alameda got that case dismissed last month; other suits are pending. The Alameda County Board of Supervisors -- which has countersued the Raiders - passed a resolution last week hailing the team's success in reaching the AFC Championship against Baltimore. "You can't ignore history ... but we're concentrating on going to the Super Bowl," Supervisor Gail Steele said. "I don't want to jinx it." While the Raiders are one win from their first Super Bowl since 1983, they say finances are grim. "We're $70 million a year short in revenue compared to so many teams in the league. Someone has to pay," Raiders general counsel Jeff Birren said. "Now that the team has won a few games [politicians] jump up and down and get all excited. But it doesn't change the past and it doesn't change the future." A California Superior Court judge has ruled the Raiders must play at the Coliseum until the team's contract ends in 2010. But that didn't stop the team from pursuing the $1.1 billion suit against Oakland and Alameda County, claiming the Raiders will lose that much because of poor attendance and a corresponding decline in the franchise's value. The agency responsible for promoting the team has been beset by fighting between the team and local officials, which share power. Only 24,000 of 55,000 personal seat licenses have been sold and under half of 143 lucrative luxury suites are taken. Raiders owner Al Davis claimed local officials had promised that all club seats, suites and personal seat licenses had been completely sold. "It was a lie, a fabricated inducement," Davis said in 1999. City and county officials deny guaranteeing sellouts.
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