Athletics respond to Raiders' stadium concerns

The Oakland Athletics are taking the high road, one day after Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis ripped the baseball franchise for foiling his plans for a new stadium.

Davis, who signed a one-year contract extension Thursday for his football team to play at the shared O.co Coliseum after relocation plans fell through, called the Athletics the "elephant in the room" while he was in negotiations with the city to build a new stadium on the O.co Coliseum site.

"They signed a 10-year lease (in 2014) while we were negotiating with Oakland (officials), and it kind of put somebody right in the middle of things," Davis said. "There isn't much you can do. They've tied our hands behind our back."

That isn't sitting well with Athletics owner Lew Wolff, who issued the following statement regarding the comments made by Davis:

It is unfortunate Mr. Davis decided to bring the A's into his discussion about the Raiders' stadium lease. We respect his right to explore his options in and out of Oakland, including his widely reported consideration of Los Angeles and other markets. The A's signed a 10-year lease at the Coliseum because we are committed to Oakland. Mr. Davis has said he is fully committed to do a new football stadium in Oakland and there is nothing in our lease that precludes Mr. Davis and the Raiders from building on the Coliseum site.

As we stated yesterday, the A's are aggressively working with the city to evaluate venue sites in Oakland. Our efforts are fully focused on Oakland. Although the Coliseum remains the main focus of our venue efforts, we are also evaluating potential sites throughout Oakland. We are confident our efforts will continue to move forward and we will share our progress throughout the process.

O.co Coliseum opened in 1966 and is the only stadium shared by professional baseball and football teams.