Oakland Raiders fans brace for team's final home NFL game ever

OAKLAND, Calif. — Raiders fans Kim Kinney and Mike Vigil have been tailgating before home games at the Oakland Coliseum for more than 12 years, and they have their setup down pat with a barbecue grill, tables and an awning to shield them from the weather.

They weren’t nearly as well outfitted in the cooking department in the early days, though, and they remember one time when the folks in the parking spot across them were grilling chicken and filet mignon, and offered to share the choicer meat with them.

“You could sit there with two chairs and a six-pack of beer and everybody around you would feed you,’’ said Kinney, who like Vigil is retired and drives in from Vacaville, about an hour away. “I’m really going to miss this. You could sit at home and watch the game on TV, but you’re missing this.’’

Indeed, more than the actual football, that spirit of camaraderie with fellow Raiders faithful is what many say they’ll yearn for the most when the team moves to Las Vegas next season.

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The final regular-season game in Oakland is scheduled Sunday, and at 6-7 the Raiders are unlikely to make the playoffs.

Vigil says tickets like his that cost $65 are going for $500 on the secondary market, but he’s not about to miss the Coliseum finale.

“I’m not selling,’’ he said.

Kinney, Vigil and his wife Christine leave from Vacaville by 7:30 a.m. to snag a prime spot, saying the tailgating – enjoyed by thousands in the vast Coliseum parking lot – is 85% of the reason they attend games.

Even if they traveled to Las Vegas for the occasional contest, as many say they’ll do, fans fear the experience won’t be the same.

“It’s very sad, because we feel like this atmosphere will never be duplicated, I don’t care where you go,’’ Christine Vigil said.

For some, the Raiders’ latest departure from their original city – they also left for Los Angeles in 1982 before returning in 1995 – evokes more anger than sadness.

They blame Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf for failing to entice the team to stick around with a more generous financial package to build a new stadium, even though the city and Alameda County are still paying $13 million a year – through 2025 – for the Coliseum revamping that drew the Raiders back.

Lifelong fans Ronald Aranda, 34, and Dave Dillard, 50, had never met until crossing paths while answering questions about the Raiders impending exit from Oakland. They promptly bonded over their disapproval of Schaaf, although they differed on how much blame to assign team owner Mark Davis.

“Oakland’s management is (lousy),’’ Aranda said, referring to the city, not the team. “Libby Schaaf should never have a job in politics.’’

Said Dillard, whose truck is decked out in Raiders gear: “That mayor shut us down. If you want to keep that team in Oakland, you would fight tooth and nail for it.’’

The Raiders were lured to Sin City by the offer of $750 million in public financing to build a $1.9 billion stadium with a translucent roof just off the Las Vegas Strip.

As the countdown ticks ever closer to the Oakland finale, Raiders personnel have been fielding more questions about the topic, though many players on the youthful team have little history with the city.

Head coach Jon Gruden, on his second go-round at the job after a previous stint from 1998-01, acknowledged after Sunday’s 42-21 loss to the Tennessee Titans that “I get emotional about it,’’ but opted not to elaborate.

Quarterback Derek Carr, drafted by the club in 2014, was more expansive, emphasizing the importance of putting on a good show in the last appearance before the Black Hole and the rest of the devoted Coliseum crowd.

“Obviously it’s weird, sad. I know some of the Raider faithful, they’ll probably be a little sad. It’s the last time, right?’’ Carr said. “But it’s out of our control. It is what it is. I’m juiced. I’m going to be amped up, so I’ll have to calm down so I don’t throw it out of bounds to the 20th row. Hopefully we win the game and I can give somebody the ball. That’d be fun.’’

As the fans geared up for the penultimate home game this past Sunday against the Titans, several emphasized that the reputation for rowdiness carried by Raiders followers is overstated, saying the stronger trait is the sense of community they share.

Chris Archuletta of Oakland and his distant cousin Mando Lopez of Las Vegas – of all places – were making that point when a fellow fan approached, asking to buy a beer from them. They gave him a free one instead.

Archuletta went on to say he’ll visit Lopez so they can attend at least one home game per season at the new venue. Archuletta also explained how he made his peace with the Raiders’ departure after understanding its economic reality.

“It’s all about money. It’s business. Their value doubled when they moved to Vegas,’’ Archuletta said. “But does it hurt? Of course it hurts.’’