COURT PUNTS OAKLAND'S APPEAL

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear Oakland's bid to collect more than US$240 million in damages from the National Football League and its 32 teams for allowing the Raiders franchise to relocate to Las Vegas in violation, according to the jilted California city, of federal antitrust law. Oakland, which the Raiders previously left in order to play in Los Angeles only to return 13 years later in 1995, had sought monetary damages but was not demanding the Raiders be forced to return to the city. The court declined review without comment. The city demanded $240 million in damages for lost tax revenue and funds invested in the team's stadium, the Oakland Coliseum. All but one of the NFL's teams, the Miami Dolphins, approved the Raiders' relocation from Oakland to Las Vegas, where they opened the 2020 season at $1.9-billion Allegiant Stadium.