Oakland Raiders say owner met with San Antonio officials

Members of the Oakland Raiders take the field during organized team activities on June 2.

July 31, 2014 6:24 PM PT

The Oakland Raiders have confirmed that owner Mark Davis recently met with city officials in San Antonio, but the team is mum on what was discussed.

On Tuesday, the San Antonio Express-News reported that on the weekend of July 18, Davis and some of his executives met with city leaders including then-mayor Julián Castro, the city manager and the president and chairman of the chamber of commerce, among others, according to the report.

The team confirmed to The Times on Wednesday that Davis had been in San Antonio.

“I was in San Antonio to honor [former Raider] Cliff Branch on his induction into [a local hall of fame]. 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,” Davis said in a statement.

Davis would not comment further on what was discussed. The team declined multiple requests to elaborate on talks of a possible relocation.

San Antonio City Manager Sheryl Sculley issued a memo to the city council with specifics about the talks following the visit, according to the Express-News.

“I was asked to meet two weeks ago with the owner of the Oakland Raiders, Mark Davis, and members of his staff. Mr. Davis has expressed interest in a possible relocation of his NFL team to San Antonio and we are engaged in preliminary due diligence,” she said in the memo, according to the Express-News. “The agenda for this visit included a tour of the Alamodome and meetings with local business leaders.”

Neither San Antonio nor Oakland city officials immediately returned calls seeking further comment.

There remains the option the team could move to Los Angeles again. The city has lacked an NFL team for 19 years since the Raiders moved back to Oakland, and the league is investigating sites in L.A. as well as looking into possible financing models for a new stadium.

“Whatever gets us a team in L.A., that would be awesome,” said New England’s Robert Kraft, who is among the league’s most influential owners, on July 19. “That might be the solution. Whatever it takes, I know I’d be willing to support.”

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Times staff writer Sam Farmer contributed to this report.