-16--16-
this law precluded Irwindale from complying with the terms of the
Irwindale MOA.
The Raiders continued to discuss various options with
Irwindale through 1990. Because general obligation bonds were no
longer an option, the later Irwindale proposals dealt mainly with
financing options. Financing alternatives included an employee
stock option plan, which was problematic due to the numerous
members of the Raiders’ front office staff who were covered by
the NFL retirement plan, and junk bonds, which the Raiders
rejected. A larger development plan that would have included a
stadium and other Raiders' facilities was also rejected by the
Raiders. One of the problems facing the Raiders in many of the
proposals was the NFL debt limitation that prevented the pledge
of the Raiders' franchise as security.
The Irwindale staff that worked on the negotiations with the
Raiders changed throughout the negotiations. On November 6,
1989, the Raiders notified Irwindale that Irwindale had not
fulfilled its commitments under the Irwindale MOA. By mid- to
late December 1989, one of the Irwindale lead negotiators
declared that the parties were back where they had started
2 years earlier. At that point, the Raiders were anticipating
approximately 4 to 6 months before a transaction could be
completed. As part of this new transaction, the Raiders would
have been expected to ensure a greater stream of revenue,
approximately $19 million per year, to repay the loan. During
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