Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

Lore & Background

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. 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). On April 11, 2017, with Dave Kaval as the 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 made it, by contrast, one of the largest baseball stadiums in the United States by capacity through 2024. The state of Oakland Coliseum has been widely criticized; sports fans and players alike consider the Coliseum to be poorly maintained and out of date. During its later years as an MLB stadium it was often cited, along with Tropicana Field, as one of the worst ballparks in the league. The Athletics played their final season at the Coliseum in 2024, moving to West Sacramento's Sutter Health Park while planning to relocate to Las Vegas.

In Their Own Story

It was a Tuesday night in September, 1973, and the Coliseum was shaking. The Giants had taken Game 7, and the A's needed a walk-off to seal the second consecutive title. The roof pressed down like a held breath. Reggie stepped into the box, and the whole building—forty thousand souls, the steel trusses, the concrete pillars—went silent in a way that felt almost religious. The pitch came in. The crack was not a sound; it was a physical event, a shockwave that traveled up through the soles of your shoes and into your chest. The ball arced into the darkness beyond the outfield wall, and the Coliseum *detonated*. Strangers grabbed strangers. A woman two rows back was sobbing into her husband's shoulder. The roof, that great gray canopy, seemed to vibrate with the collective scream. For three seconds, the city of Oakland—every bodega, every barbershop, every kitchen table from East Oakland to the hills—was one single, roaring organism. Then the players came out, and the Coliseum was just a building again. But only for a moment. It never was, really.

Reader's Guide

The Coliseum was privately financed, with ownership transferring to the city and county upon retirement of the construction financing. Preliminary architectural plans were unveiled in November 1960, and a site was chosen west of the Elmhurst district of East Oakland alongside the Nimitz Freeway. Construction started in spring 1962 and was delayed for two years due to legal issues and cost overruns. The stadium opened in 1966. Over its history, the stadium has been known as Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum (1966–1998), Network Associates Coliseum (1998–2004), McAfee Coliseum (2004–2008), Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum (2008–2011), Overstock.com Coliseum (April–June 2011), O.co Coliseum (2011–2016), and Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum (2016–present). The playing surface was dedicated as Rickey Henderson Field in 2017.

Did You Know?

• The Coliseum was the last remaining stadium in the United States shared by professional baseball and football teams.
• In 2006, the Athletics blocked off the third deck to create the smallest stadium in MLB, but by reopening sections in 2017 it became one of the largest baseball stadiums in the U.S. by capacity.
• The Coliseum hosted international matches during the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
• The upper deck added in 1996 is nicknamed 'Mount Davis' by fans.