Raiders' Mark Davis Blasts A's for Oakland Move: 'All They Did Was F--k the Bay Area'

Don't expect Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis to roll out the red carpet when the Oakland Athletics follow in his footsteps and move to Nevada.

Speaking to John Katsilometes of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Davis ripped the A's for how they handled things with the Oakland Coliseum lease when both teams shared a stadium:

"They squatted on a lease for 10 years and made it impossible for us to build on that stadium. ... They were looking for a stadium. We were looking for a stadium. They didn't want to build a stadium, and then went ahead and signed a 10-year lease with the city of Oakland and said, 'We're the base team.'"

Davis went on to say, "all they (A's ownership and management) did was f--k the Bay Area" by negotiating with Oakland government officials in bad faith to increase their leverage for a new stadium in Vegas.

"They marketed the team as 'Rooted in Oakland,' that's been their mantra through the whole thing," he explained. "The slogans they've been using have been a slap to the face of the Raiders, and they were trying to win over that type of mentality in the Bay Area."

A's president Dave Kaval told Josh Dubow of the Associated Press on Thursday the club has signed a binding agreement to purchase land for a new retractable roof stadium in Vegas that will be funded privately and publicly. They hope to break ground as soon as next year with the hope of moving to the city by 2027.

The city of Oakland attempted to engage A's management in talks about a new stadium. One possibility that emerged in 2021 was a $12 billion project at Howard Terminal that would include a waterfront ballpark and village.

After Thursday's news broke, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao issued a statement on Twitter that criticized the A's for negotiating in bad faith "to extract a better deal out of Las Vegas" for a new stadium.

It's still not 100 percent certain the Athletics will relocate to Las Vegas, but all signs are strongly pointing toward that being the eventual outcome.

Despite Davis' stance against the A's, he's not exactly innocent in the situation that resulted in the Raiders leaving the East Bay.

The Raiders spent years attempting to negotiate with the city of Oakland for a new stadium to no avail. One proposal from 2013 was for a 50,000-seat venue that would cost between $800 million to $1.2 billion, but the NFL club was seeking at least $300 million in public funding.

Another proposal in 2016 saw Davis seek $400 million in local government subsidies, but Oakland steadfastly refused to provide that much financial assistance and countered with offering 60 acres of land plus $90 million for infrastructure improvements.

By September 2016, the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee approved a $1.9 billion stadium plan that included at least $750 million in public funding. Six months later, the Raiders received approval from the NFL owners to move to Las Vegas.

The Raiders officially moved to Las Vegas starting with the 2020 season, ending their streak of 25 consecutive seasons in Oakland after returning from Los Angeles in 1995.