

Preliminary architectural plans were unveiled in November 1960, and the following month a site was chosen west of the Elmhurst district of East Oakland alongside the recently completed Nimitz Freeway. Finley, and Warriors owner Franklin Mieuli. On the death of Nahas, Jack Maltester, a former San Leandro mayor and Coliseum board member, said, "If not for Bob Nahas, there would be no Coliseum, it's really that simple." Nahas had to be a diplomat dealing with the egos of Raiders owner Al Davis, Athletics owner Charles O. Nahas served 20 years as President of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Board. It was Nahas' idea that the Coliseum be privately financed with ownership transferring to the city and county upon retirement of the construction financing. Kaiser, and which later became the governing board of the Coliseum upon completion. Nahas (who had been president of Oakland's chamber of commerce) headed this group, which included other prominent East Bay business leaders such as former US Senator William Knowland and Edgar F.

īy 1960, a non-profit corporation was formed to oversee the financing and development of the facility rather than city or county government issuing taxpayer-backed bonds for construction. As a result, the desire for a major league stadium in the city of Oakland intensified during the 1950s and 1960s.
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Professional sports was seen as a primary way for the East Bay to gain such recognition. Stadium history Planning and construction īusiness and political leaders in Oakland had long been in competition with neighboring San Francisco, as well as other cities in the West, and worked for Oakland and its greater East Bay suburbs to be recognized nationally as a viable metropolitan area with its own identity and reputation, distinct and separate from that of San Francisco. The Athletics are currently in the process of relocating to Las Vegas and plan to vacate the Coliseum following the expiration of their lease at the conclusion of the 2024 season. Major League Baseball has cited the need to replace Oakland Coliseum and Tropicana Field as one of the primary obstacles to future MLB expansion. Along with Tropicana Field, it is often cited as one of the worst ballparks in Major League Baseball and consistently takes the last or second-to-last spot in rankings of stadiums. The current state of Oakland Coliseum has been widely criticized fans and players alike consider the Coliseum to be poorly maintained and out of date. On April 11, 2017, with Dave Kaval as the then-new team president, the Athletics began to reopen some of the sections in the third deck, and open the Mount Davis deck for selected marquee games this configuration makes it, by contrast, the largest baseball stadium in the United States by capacity. In 2006, citing a desire to provide a more "intimate" environment, the Athletics blocked off the entirety of the Coliseum's third deck during its games, which artificially limited its capacity to 34,077 (making it the smallest stadium in Major League Baseball). The Coliseum has a seating capacity of up to 63,132 depending on its configuration an upper deck dubbed " Mount Davis" by fans was added as part of a 1996 renovation for the Raiders' return to Oakland. It has also occasionally been used for soccer, including hosting selected San Jose Earthquakes matches in 20, and during the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

It was the last remaining stadium in the United States shared by professional baseball and football teams. Since then, the stadium has been primarily used for baseball. It was also the home of the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League from 1966 until 1981, when the team moved to Los Angeles, and again from 1995 until 2019, when the team moved to Las Vegas. In 2017, the playing surface was dedicated as Rickey Henderson Field in honor of Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and former Athletics left fielder Rickey Henderson. It is part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880. Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum is a multi-purpose stadium in Oakland, California, United States, and the home ballpark of the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball. Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority ( City of Oakland and Alameda County)īaseball: 46,847 (expandable to 56,782 without tarps) Ĭoncerts: 47,416 or 64,829 (depending on configuration)īaseball: 56,310 (July 21, 2018, Athletics vs Giants) Football: 62,784 (January 14, 2001, Raiders vs Ravens)ģ6 feet (11 m) high by 145 feet (44 m) wide
