Oakland Raiders Have New Investor for Coliseum City

On Oct. 22, the Oakland Raiders tapped New City Development, LLC to be their new investor for their sports and entertainment center which will be built near their home stadium, O.Co Coliseum.

The Oakland Raiders have a new investor for a sports and entertainment center which will be built around their home stadium, O.Co Coliseum. 

The new investor is New City Development, LLC, per The Oakland Tribune’s Matthew Artz (via InsideBayArea.com): 

“Hope for a new Oakland Raiders football stadium got a big boost Tuesday as the City Council approved the inclusion of a new investment group that will take the lead in trying to transform 120 acres surrounding O.Co Coliseum and the Oracle Arena into a sports and entertainment center. 

New #ColiseumCity investor is fronted Floyd Kephart. @RAIDERS @Athletics— Matthew Artz (@Matthew_Artz) October 21, 2014

“New City Development, LLC is being fronted by Floyd Kephart, Chairman of the Renaissance Companies, a San Diego-based consulting firm that advises several leading hedge funds. 

“Kephart’s arrival on the scene appears to have at least temporarily rescued the development project known as Coliseum City just two weeks before the city’s mayoral election, although there remains concern that progress ona football stadium could make it harder for Oakland to keep its baseball team, which is also interested in building at the Coliseum site. 

“The City Council voted 6-1 Tuesday to grant a 90-day extension to an outside planning team that has been trying for two years to get the project off the ground and now will inclued Kephart, 72, as its leading figure. The extension came on the day that the planning team’s contract with the city was set to expire. 

“Over the next three months, Kephart must strike a deal with the Raiders and bring aboard a developer that has the blessing of the city and NFL.

“Mayor Jean Quan said she is confident that Kephart ‘has the experience and capital’ to execute the deal. ‘I think this shows that you never count Oakland out.’ 

“Kephart declined to name his investors, but said they had the requisite capital and that he would engage all three of the city’s sports teams, including the Golden State Warriors, who have already purchased land for a new arena in San Francisco. He did not say if the investors would seek an equity stake in the Raiders in return for helping finance a new football stadium. 

“‘We’re not making Kool-Aid,’ he said. ‘It’s not just going to flower up. But we believe that we can open negotiations…and identify the things that need to be done.’ 

“Oakland has struggled for more than two years to find anyone willing to put money into its vision of redeveloping the Coliseum site and hundreds of surrounding acres in East

Oakland into a gleaming sports and entertainment hub with new stadiums for the Raiders and Oakland A’s, a hotel, shops and homes. 

“Optimism ran high nearly a year ago when real estate titan Colony Capital and Dubai-based businessman Rashid Al-Malik joined the planning team. But they failed to sign up a developer for the project or get the Raiders to sign a letter-of-interest in the deal.”

For his part, ESPN Oakland Raiders reporter Bill Williamson credits the team’s miscues as the reason why it lost to the visiting Arizona Cardinals, 24-13, in Week 7 of the 2014 NFL regular season. With the loss, Oakland fell to 0-6:

“The Raiders made numerous critical miscues in the second half of a game that they took themselves out of, a 24-13 home defeat to Arizona on Sunday. Oakland is the NFL’s last winless team — thanks to Jacksonville’s victory over Cleveland — and has lost 12 straight dating back to last November.

“Frankly, victory doesn’t appear to be lurking around any corner. After playing at Cleveland next Sunday, the Raiders face Seattle (Seahawks), Denver (Broncos), San Diego (Chargers) and Kansas City (Chiefs), all playoff teams from 2013.

“‘This is as bad as you’re going to get through the first part of the season,’ veteran Raiders safety Charles Woodson said. ‘We haven’t won a game. How much worse can it get than that, than not winning a game?’

“Sunday’s game was the second under interim coach Tony Sparano since the firing of coach Dennis Allen. Yes, the Raiders have given effort and they have shown some spark under Sparano, but the bottom line remains the same — when it’s time to make a play, the Raiders have come up short.

“Allen called it failing ‘at the moment of truth.’ Sparano’s flash phrase is ‘Oakland beating Okland.’ Both doses of coach-speak were applicable Sunday.

“Though the Raiders pulled within 14-13 in the third quarter, they never truly looked like they were in position to win. The reason? They kept making mistakes. There was a cascade of blunders in the second half on both sides of the ball.”  

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