SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio City Manager Sheryl Sculley and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones have weighed in on reports of a recent meeting held in San Antonio between city officials and the
owner of the Oakland Raiders.
Mark Davis met with San Antonio officials on July 20 and one of the topics reportedly discussed was the possibility of moving the Raiders to the Alamo City.
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Davis was in San Antonio to honor former Raider and three-time Super Bowl winner Cliff Branch. That meeting included then-mayor Julian Castro, former mayor Henry Cisneros, Sculley and others. The meeting was confirmed as having taken place by Becky Bridges Dinnin, of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce.
According to KSAT Sports Director Greg Simmons, it's no secret the Raiders want a new stadium in Oakland. There have also been talks of sharing a stadium in Los Angeles.
Simmons said this is not the first time the Alamo City has been used as a negotiating tool, but because Cisneros' son-in-law now works for the Raiders, the former mayor thought it was worth a shot. Simmons spoke to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones about his thoughts on the topic:
"I too appreciate what a great city San Antonio is. I am very pleased that we have the fan base that we have. Down there the percentage of fans we have, I think it's 97, 98, 99 percent of Cowboy fans in that area, but it doesn't surprise me at all. I know that there are those kinds of rumors, (like there was) regarding the Saints," said Jones.
When asked about another franchise moving into Cowboys territory, Jones said, "I don't have any thoughts there, and (it) would be difficult for them to make headway, I'm sure of that...now the Spurs are another story."
City Manager Sheryl Sculley released a statement Tuesday night:
"Oakland Raiders officials were in San Antonio in July to attend the Prairie View Interscholastic League Hall of Fame induction of Cliff Branch and met with community representatives regarding the possible use of the Alamodome for future NFL games and potential relocation of the Oakland Raiders from Oakland, California to San Antonio. These discussions are in a very preliminary stage."
Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis released a statement on Twitter:
"I was in San Antonio to honor Cliff Branch on his induction into the PVILCA. Former San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros is a friend and Henry suggested I take the opportunity to meet with some of the city officials while we were in town. I have nothing further to discuss on the topic."
In 1989, Cisneros made a trip to an NFL owners' meeting in Palm Desert, Calif., to convince a team such as the Oakland Raiders to consider moving to San Antonio as plans for the Alamodome were underway.
The Raiders' then-owner, Al Davis, told Cisneros at the time that he would consider it if the Alamodome was built, but the move never happened.
Any NFL franchise looking to relocate would need 24 of the league's 32 owners to approve the move.