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Oakland mayor: Raiders fans 'deserved better'

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

Oakland will soon lose the Raiders to relocation for the second time in team history, as NFL owners officially voted Monday to approve a move to Las Vegas.

The departure, which seems likely to come after at least another season or two in the Bay Area, comes despite some last-ditch efforts from city officials to keep the Raiders in town.

Oakland mayor Libby Schaff released a statement expressing her disappointment with the development, via Tom Pelissero of USA Today:

I am disappointed that the Raiders and the NFL chose Las Vegas over Oakland when we had a full-financed, shovel-ready stadium project that would have kept the Raiders in Oakland where they were born and raised. I am proud that we stood firm in refusing to use public money to subsidize stadium construction and that we did not capitulate to their unreasonable and unnecessary demand that we choose between our football and baseball franchises. As a lifelong Oaklander, my heart aches today for the Raiders Nation. These are the most committed and passionate fans any city or team could hope to have. They deserved better.

The city's latest stadium proposal was submitted just days before the Las Vegas vote, but NFL commissioner Roger Goodell quickly responded by pointing out in a letter to Schaff that there's still not a viable solution on the table.

The expectation is the Raiders will use lease options on the Oakland Coliseum for the next two seasons as construction gets underway on a planned $1.9-billion stadium in Las Vegas.

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