Los Angeles might not be the only option for the Raiders potential relocation in 2016.
Thanks to San Antonio, it looks like the Raiders now have a second option open to them that doesn't involve staying in Oakland.
The Mayor of San Antonio, Ivy Taylor, said over the weekend that her city would be willing to serve as the Raiders home if the team decides to move to LA, but needs a place to play until a new stadium is built.
"We would be open to that," Taylor told the San Antonio Express-News. "We are already making improvements over there for the (2018) Final Four, so we would be open to that."
The reason the Raiders might need a place to play is because the earliest an LA stadium would potentially open is 2018.
The Inglewood stadium plan, which is being pushed by Rams owner Stan Kroenke, could be open in time for the 2018 season. The Carson stadium plan, which involves the Raiders and Chargers, likely wouldn't be finished until 2019 at the earliest.
If two teams were to announce a move to LA, the city might not be able to handle both of them right away.
The Rose Bowl has already announced that it has no interest in hosting a temporary NFL team, meaning the LA Coliseum is the only stadium that has publicly stated it would be willing to host a temporary team.
So if two teams move, one of them might need a viable temporary location and that's where San Antonio would come in.
"I think it would give NFL fans here the experience of having a team here locally and it would further highlight the assets of San Antonio to the NFL," Taylor said. "Should there be any expansion or other moves, it lets the NFL know San Antonio is a viable option."
Wherever the Raiders end up, it's looking less and less like it's going to be Oakland.
After the NFL's relocation meeting on Aug. 11, NFL executive vice president Eric Grubman said that Oakland had "no viable proposal to keep the Raiders.
"The Oakland Raiders have great fans. The facts on the ground are there's been no viable proposal that's been made to the Raiders," Grubman said. "We've said one thing consistently to any of the markets and it really rests on a couple of pillars. One of them the proposal has to be specific. The second is it has to be attractive to a team. And the third is it has to be actionable."
San Antonio might be a long shot to host the Raiders, but at this point, it seems like Oakland is too.
The Raiders one-year lease with Oakland expires at the end of the 2015 season. Teams are allowed to apply for relocation between January 1, 2016 and Feb. 15, 2016, although it's believed that the league will soon shrink that window.
