āI wonāt forget what they did to us in Oakland,ā he was quoted as saying. āThey squatted on a lease for 10 years and made it impossible for us to build on that stadiumā¦ They were looking for a stadium. We were looking for a stadium. They didnāt want to build a stadium, and then went ahead and signed a 10-year lease with the city of Oakland and said, āWeāre the base team.āā
The Raiders owner pointed out that the Aās paraded as the team ārooted in Oakland,ā using catchphrases that essentially belittled the NFL team.
āFor them to leave Oakland without anything is pretty [screwed] up,ā he added. āBecause that site that the stadium was on was a good site. . . . We ended up in Las Vegas, which is absolutely fantastic and couldnāt be better. But the Aās never gave us a real good chance to stay up in Oakland.ā
It appears the Aās arenāt as ābaseā as both teams thought because theyāre now poised to leave Oakland.
Davis doesnāt seem like he will be around to welcome them to Vegas when they do arrive, with the 67-year-old reiterating his gripe with the Athleticsā front office.
āI just have, again, a lot of personal animosity toward the front office,ā he offered. āBut with a new management group? Absolutely.ā
Fortunately for Davis, he wonāt have to share a stadium with the Aās. He will be sharing a city, however.