Oakland, California
Oakland is the most populous city in and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, and the third-largest city overall in the Bay Area. With a population of 440,646 in 2020,[13] it serves as the Bay Area's trade center: the Port of Oakland is the busiest port in Northern California, and the fifth- or sixth-busiest in the United States.[18] A charter city,[19] Oakland was incorporated on May 4, 1852, in the wake of the state's increasing population due to the California gold rush.[4]
"Oakland" and "City of Oakland" redirect here. For other uses, see Oakland (disambiguation) and Oakland City.
Oakland
United States
The large oak forest that originally covered the area[5]
Buffy Wicks (D) and
Mia Bonta (D)[9]
78.03 sq mi (202.10 km2)
55.93 sq mi (144.86 km2)
22.10 sq mi (57.24 km2)
43 ft (13 m)
440,646
7,878.53/sq mi (3,041.87/km2)
Oaklander
Oakland's territory covers what was once a mosaic of California coastal terrace prairie, oak woodland, and north coastal scrub.[20] In the late 18th century, it became part of a large rancho grant in the colony of New Spain, and known for its plentiful oak tree stands. Its land served as a resource when its hillside oak and redwood timber were logged to build San Francisco.[20] The fertile flatland soils helped it become a prolific agricultural region. In the 1850s, what became the first campus of the University of California was founded in Oakland, and Oakland was selected as the western terminal of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869.[21] The following year, Oakland's Lake Merritt became the United States' first officially designated wildlife refuge, now a National Historic Landmark. Following the catastrophic 1906 San Francisco earthquake, many San Francisco citizens moved to Oakland, enlarging the population, increasing its housing stock, and improving its infrastructure. It continued to grow in the 20th century with its port, shipyards, and manufacturing industry.
Oakland has variously been represented by major professional teams in baseball, basketball, American football, soccer, and hockey.
The Oakland Athletics (of Major League Baseball) won three consecutive World Series championships in 1972, 1973, and 1974, and appeared in another three consecutive World Series from 1988 to 1990, winning their fourth championship in 1989. Currently based at the Oakland Coliseum, the Athletics announced plans to move to Las Vegas to play at a new 33,000-seat partially retractable ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip with the team itself spending three seasons at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento as a temporary home. It would leave Oakland without a major professional sports team for the first time since 1959.[79]
Oakland's former football team, the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL), won Super Bowl XI in 1976 and Super Bowl XV in 1980, during their tenure in Oakland. The Raiders relocated to Las Vegas in 2020 and are now known as the Las Vegas Raiders.
Oakland's former basketball team, the Golden State Warriors won the 1974–75, 2014–15, 2016–17, and the 2017–18 NBA championships, while losing in 2016 and 2019. The Warriors, whose primary owners reside in Southern California, announced in April 2014 that they would leave Oakland once their new arena was built across the Bay in San Francisco. In 2019, the Warriors built and moved to Chase Center across the Bay. Since the team remained in the Bay Area, they decided not to revert to the San Francisco Warriors name it had in its first stint with the city.
The Oakland Roots SC are a professional soccer team that was formed in 2018. The Roots began play in 2019 in a new third division professional league known as the National Independent Soccer Association, however, the team announced that it would move into the second division of US professional soccer, and play in the USL Championship beginning in the 2021 season.
The Roots play their home matches at Laney College Football Stadium.
The Oakland Soul, a woman's professional soccer club will begin play in May 2023 as an expansion team in the USL W League; they will also play their home matches at LCFS.
Oakland's former hockey team, the California Golden Seals were a professional ice hockey club that competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1967 to 1976. Based in Oakland, they played their home games at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena. The Seals were one of six teams added to the league as part of the 1967 NHL expansion. Initially named the California Seals, the team was renamed the Oakland Seals during the 1967–68 season and then the Bay Area Seals in 1970 before becoming the California Golden Seals the same year.
The Seals were the least successful of the teams added in the 1967 expansion, never earning a winning record and only making the playoffs twice in nine seasons of play. Off the ice, they were plagued by low attendance. The franchise was relocated prior to the beginning of the 1976–77 season to become the Cleveland Barons, who would cease operation two years later.
Oakland's ultimate team, Oakland Spiders, relocated to Oakland in 2022 after playing eight years as the San Jose Spiders.
Oakland's former sports teams include:
International relations[edit]
Sister cities[edit]
Oakland has 13 sister cities:[220]