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On Tuesday, July 29th, Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis confirmed that he and 2 other top Raiders higher-ups met with San Antonio officials at the Alamo Dome and also took a helicopter tour of the city.
Davis allegedly told the city officials that he would prefer a small, intimate stadium that could feature a statue of his father, the late Al Davis. Mark Davis downplayed the significance of his visit to San Antonio. Davis:
“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.”
Cowboys owners and large video screen enthusiast Jerry Jones responded, unsure that a team in San Antonio could draw away many Cowboys fans from the area or even if this story is more than just another rumor. Jones:
“I am very pleased that we have the fan base that we have down there and the percentage of fans we have. I think it is 97, 98, 99 percent Cowboys fans in the area. But it doesn’t surprise me at all. I know that there were those kind of rumors regarding the Saints.”
It is true: San Antonio was floated around as a possible destination for the Saints after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and the Superdome sustained heavy damage. In hindsight this sounds ludicrous as we now know the team stayed in New Orleans and Drew Brees took the team to a Super Bowl title. This move may also fall through; it could be typical business posturing Davis can use in negotiations with Oakland officials.
But you never know: maybe this time San Antonio, the 7th largest city in the US with a city population of 1.4 million and metro population of 2.3 million, finally gets their team.
