If they do leave, it'll add insult to injury for taxpayers in Oakland and Alameda County.
According to Bloomberg, "Losing the Raiders would leave Oakland with about $122 million in debt after a refinancing in 2012, which originated 17 years ago in part to bring the team back from Los Angeles."
SNIP
Oakland and Alameda County loaned $63.9 million to the Raiders as part of the move, to cover relocation and operating costs and a training facility. The money was part of $197.7 million that the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority borrowed, including some for changes sought by the Athletics and the city.
Seventeen years later, that deal is sapping the finances of the city of 390,724, across the bay from San Francisco. The city and county have limited options to recover the loan because mandatory payments are limited to amounts received from parking, concessions and rent, according to stadium authority documents.
With interest, the amount owed by the Raiders on its loans now totals $124.8 million, according to a financial statement for the coliseum authority, as revenue from the stadium hasnt generated enough to cover all costs. Taxpayers must continue repaying the original debt, which totaled $145 million, according to the citys financial report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, before payments on principal reduced it to $122 million after the debt was refinanced in May 2012.
COMPLETE STORY HERE: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-20/oakland-pays-17-million-for-nfl-raiders-as-cops-get-cut.html