Davis certainly likes his share of leverage
February 16
San Francisco Chronicle
columnist Ray Ratto
"When the Raiders announced that they were examining the notion of building a new stadium on the site of the current Coliseum, three things sprung to mind:
-- No they aren't.
-- Even if they are, they can't do it for years, and maybe ever.
-- And this is the cruncher: They just sent a message to the 49ers that read, "We're not as easy as you think we are."
Much was made of the 49ers' shared stadium plan, although none of the things being made had anything to do with any of the actual details. The 49ers merely were spit-balling an idea, assuming that the logic would be implied by the fact that they conceived the idea.
Al Davis offered a hint that the Raiders weren't rolling over when he said after the Tom Cable news conference, "We like this location, but we need a new stadium" - the important part being the phrase, "We like this location."
In other words, he was saying, "Yeah, we can share a stadium, but we don't want it to be in Santa Clara. How's about you drive up to Oakland?""
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