McCombs lobbying to bring Raiders to San Antonio

Red McCombs, the former Minnesota Vikings owner, said in a radio interview Thursday that the city of San Antonio is ready to host the Raiders. “He figures that he’s going to need a stadium and if it doesn’t work there and he decides to go somewhere, we want him to come here”.

The NFL approved the relocation of the St. Louis Rams to Los Angeles on Tuesday night, leaving both the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers in limbo in their respective stadiums.

Bleacher Report insider Jason Cole reported this week that Davis purchased land between Austin, Texas and San Antonio where a stadium could be built. If the situation with the local governments remains the same for Davis there is a high chance he will continue to contemplate relocation even without Los Angeles.

Raiders were desperate to return to L.A. before withdrawing their application a few days ago.

The league would need to grant the Raiders approval to move to San Antonio, which McCombs believed it would because of the team’s failure to obtain its own stadium in Oakland.

Levi’s Stadium is built for two teams.

McCombs said he already has a team of investors lined up.

Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis has been angling for years to escape from the almost 50-year-old O.co Coliseum, originally named the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum when it opened in 1966. The area also has the Alamo Dome, which could house a team until a new stadium is complete.

Adriana Cruz, president of the Greater San Marcos Partnership, a regional economic development agency, says an NFL stadium in San Marcos would align with her nonprofit’s stated goal of accommodating “destination attractions”, such as a major-league sports venue or an amusement park.

“The problem with Mark (Davis) is that he always takes the elements that he wants as opposed to the other commitments”, she said. “If he wants to keep it all to himself, that’s OK too”. “We have to find some way for him to see that this is heaven”, McCombs said.

The Raiders are looking for a place to play in the short term and the long term.

In his radio interview, McCombs said he has found 12 corporate sponsors who are seriously committed to investing in the potential San Antonio Raiders and that the city has multiple locations where a stadium could be constructed.