Davis trying to keep Raiders in Bay Area for '19 as options dwindle

Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis is still striving to keep the team in the Bay Area for 2019, even though he's running out of options - and time.

The Raiders, at the moment, are homeless for next season. Their lease at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum has expired, and the city of San Francisco has pushed back on a scenario in which the Raiders would share Oracle Park with Major League Baseball's Giants for a year.

"I've said from the beginning, my biggest concern is our fans, and it's my hope and preference to remain in the Bay Area for them," Davis told Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "... We do have other options, but the hope is to remain in the Bay Area next season until we move to Las Vegas in 2020, which I remain very excited about."

The 49ers are reportedly prepared to invoke their territorial rights to stop the Raiders from playing in Oracle Park. San Francisco Mayor London Breed said the Raiders would complicate traffic, which is already affected by construction on the Golden State Warriors' new arena.

The Raiders could conceivably work out a one-year deal with Oakland to stay in the coliseum, though tensions between the two sides have been high since the city filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the franchise.

The last Bay Area option may be having the Raiders and 49ers share Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara. The Raiders' stadium in Las Vegas won't be ready to house the team until 2020, so an early move to Sin City isn't on the table.

The NFL typically announces schedules for the upcoming season in April.

"I know the (league) would like this decided within a few weeks, and we certainly don't want to be the ones that would cause a delay in scheduling," said Davis.

The Raiders have been in Oakland since 1995. They played in Los Angeles from 1982-94 and were in Oakland from 1960-81 before that.

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