The Coliseum
The exterior of the Oakland Coliseum, Sep-1997.
Looking through the Athletics’ bullpen toward home plate.
Quick Facts:
- Location: Off Nimitz Freeway (I-880) at Hegenberger Road, Oakland, Calif.
- Opened: 1966 as Oakland-Alameda Co. Coliseum (1968 for baseball)
- Home team: Oakland Athletics, American League (1968-present); Oakland Raiders, National Football League (1966-80, 1992-present)
- Capacity: 43,662 for baseball
Rating:
2 baseballs
There were those who said this was one of the nicer parks around, at one time. By the time I got to this place, though, the football Raiders had moved back in and caused the outfield to be filled in with a bank of prime football seats which destroyed the view from home plate. On the day I attended, for a fireworks night against the cross-bay San Francisco Giants, the football stands were opened and the attendance was close to 55,000, a rarity.
What saves the Coliseum (which has had several naming rights sponsors in the last few years, most recently McAfee Software) are two things: grass, which is particularly important for a multi-purpose facility, and the perception that yes, this was a special place at one time. After all, there was some history here, particularly in the early 1970s, when the Athletics won three straight World Series.
The Athletics are talking about moving their act down the freeway a few miles, to Fremont, near San Jose, leaving the Coliseum to the Raiders. I have heard dates as close as 2010 for this move.
| Game # |
Date |
League |
Level |
Result |
| 288 |
1-Sep-1997 |
American * |
MLB |
San Francisco 8, OAKLAND 2 |
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Site and images Copyright © 1997 Charles O’Reilly. All rights reserved.
This page updated 1-Apr-2008