Oakland Coliseum
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum[10] is a multi-purpose stadium in Oakland, California, United States. It is part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880. 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.[11]
This article is about the outdoor stadium. For the adjacent indoor arena, see Oakland Arena.Former names
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum (1966–1998, 2008–2011, 2016–2019, 2020, 2023–present)
Network Associates Coliseum (1998–2004)
McAfee Coliseum (2004–2008)
Overstock.com Coliseum (2011)
O.co Coliseum (2011–2016)
RingCentral Coliseum (2019–2020, 2020–2023)
7000 Coliseum Way
AC Transit: 45, 46L, 73 
, 90, 98, 646, 657, 805 Alameda County East Oakland Shuttle
Amtrak: Capitol Corridor at Oakland Coliseum
BART: OAK B O G at Coliseum Harbor Bay Business Park Shuttle
Left field 330 feet (101 m)
Left center 388 feet (118 m)
Center field 400 feet (122 m)
Right center 388 feet (118 m)
Right field 330 feet (101 m)
Backstop 60 feet (18 m) 
Tifway II Bermuda Grass
36 feet (11 m) high by 145 feet (44 m) wide
April 15, 1964[4]
September 18, 1966
1995–1996, 2017[5]
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
HNTB (1995–96 renovation)
Guy F. Atkinson Company[4]
It has been the home of the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball since 1968. 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 after the team’s return, from 1995 until 2019, when the team moved to Las Vegas. Since then, the stadium has been primarily used for baseball. It was the last remaining stadium in the United States shared by professional baseball and football teams.[12] It has occasionally been used for soccer, including hosting selected San Jose Earthquakes matches in 2008 and 2009,[13] and during the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[14]
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;[15] this configuration makes it, by contrast, the largest baseball stadium in the United States by capacity.
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.[16] 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. Major League Baseball has cited the need to replace Oakland Coliseum and Tropicana Field as one of the primary obstacles to future expansion.[17][18][19]
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 and move into West Sacramento's Sutter Health Park for three seasons as a dedicated facility in Las Vegas is built.
Stadium history[edit]
Planning and construction[edit]
Business 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. Professional sports was seen as a primary way for the East Bay to gain such recognition. As a result, the desire for a major league stadium in the city of Oakland intensified during the 1950s and 1960s.
By 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. Local real estate developer Robert T. 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. Kaiser, and which later became the governing board of the Coliseum upon completion. It was Nahas' idea that the Coliseum be privately financed with ownership transferring to the city and county upon retirement of the construction financing.[20]
Nahas served 20 years as President of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Board. 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."[21] Nahas had to be a diplomat dealing with the egos of Raiders owner Al Davis, Athletics owner Charles O. Finley, and Warriors owner Franklin Mieuli.
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. A downtown site adjacent to Lake Merritt and the Oakland Auditorium was also originally considered.[20] The Port of Oakland played a key role in selection of the East Oakland site. The Port gave 157 acres (64 ha) at the head of San Leandro Bay to the East Bay Regional Park District, in exchange for 105 acres (42 ha) of park land across the freeway. The Port then donated that land to the City of Oakland as the site for the complex.[22]
The Oakland Raiders of the American Football League moved to Frank Youell Field, a makeshift stadium near downtown Oakland, in 1962, and the Coliseum was already being heralded in the local media as the Raiders' future permanent home. Baseball was also a major factor in the planning of the Coliseum. As early as 1961, the American League publicly indicated that it wished to include Oakland in its West Coast expansion plans. In 1963, American League president Joe Cronin suggested that Coliseum officials model some aspects of the new ballpark after Dodger Stadium, which impressed him,[23] though these expansion plans seemed to fade by the middle of the decade.
After approval from the city of Oakland as well as Alameda County by 1962, $25 million in financing was arranged. Plans were drawn for a stadium, an indoor arena, and an exhibition hall in between them. The architect of record was the San Francisco office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill with Myron Goldsmith the principal design architect[24] and the general contractor was Guy F. Atkinson Company. Preliminary site preparation began in the summer of 1961. Construction began in the spring of 1962. The construction schedule was delayed for two years due to various legal issues and cost overruns; the original design had to be modified slightly to stay within budget.[25]
In 1965, it was rumored that the Cleveland Indians might leave Cleveland for a West Coast city (such as Oakland), but the Indians stayed in Cleveland. Charlie Finley, owner of the Kansas City Athletics, unhappy in Kansas City, was impressed by Oakland's new stadium and personally convinced to consider Oakland by Nahas.[21] After several unsuccessful attempts and amid considerable controversy, Finley eventually got permission to relocate the Athletics to Oakland in 1968. One year later, the A's replacement, the Kansas City Royals, began play as an expansion team.
Stadium name changes[edit]
For over three decades (1966–1998), the stadium was first known as Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum.[26]
In September 1997, UMAX Technologies agreed to acquire the naming rights to the stadium. However, following a dispute, a court decision reinstated the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum name. In 1998, Network Associates agreed to pay US$5.8 million over five years for the naming rights and the stadium became known as Network Associates Coliseum, or, alternately in marketing and media usage as, "the Net".[27]
Network Associates renewed the contract in 2003 for an additional five years at a cost of $6 million. In mid-2004, Network Associates was renamed McAfee, restoring its name from before its 1997 merger with Network General, and the stadium was renamed McAfee Coliseum accordingly.
McAfee was offered a renewal of the naming contract in 2008, but it was declined. The name reverted to the pre-1997 name of Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum on September 19, 2008. The stadium retained its original name until April 27, 2011, when it was renamed Overstock.com Coliseum via a six-year, $7.2 million naming rights deal with online retailer Overstock.com.
The Coliseum was renamed O.co Coliseum on June 6, 2011, after Overstock.com's marketing name.[28][29][30] However, due to a contract dispute with the Athletics regarding the Overstock/O.co naming rights deal, the A's continued to refer to the stadium as the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum in all official team communications and on team websites.[31]
Overstock opted out of the final year on their naming rights deal on April 2, 2016, and the stadium once again became the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum.[32][33]
The Athletics dedicated the Coliseum's playing surface "Rickey Henderson Field" in honor of MLB Hall of Famer and former Athletic Rickey Henderson as part of Opening Day on April 3, 2017.[34]
RingCentral placed a bid for the naming rights on May 14, 2019, for a $1 million annual payment.[35] The Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Authority gave its approval of the new naming-rights deal on May 31, 2019,[36] pending formal approval from Major League Baseball.[37] New signage was in place by the time that the Golden State Warriors hosted the 2019 NBA Finals at the neighboring Oracle Arena on June 5.[38]
In August 2019, the head of the Coliseum Authority, Scott McKibben, abruptly resigned his position after allegations emerged that he had requested a $50,000 fee from RingCentral in exchange for negotiating the naming rights deal.[39] McKibben was subsequently charged by the Alameda County district attorney's office with violating conflict-of-interest laws, including one felony and one misdemeanor count,[40] ultimately pleading nolo contendere to the misdemeanor in exchange for the dropping of the felony charge.[41] On January 17, 2020, the RingCentral naming rights deal was rescinded by the Coliseum Authority.[42] In late 2020, a new three year naming rights deal with RingCentral was agreed to.[43]
On April 1, 2023, the Coliseum terminated its sponsorship with RingCentral, reverting to its original name.[44]
Gate at the Oakland Coliseum, September 10, 2017
Oakland Coliseum during a football game
The Coliseum as seen in its original open grandstand configuration before being enclosed
Coliseum redevelopment plan[edit]
The Coliseum, along with Oracle Arena and its surrounding parking lots, are owned 50% by the City of Oakland and 50% by the Athletics.[84] The Athletics purchased their 50% share in 2018 from Alameda County, after the City of Oakland dropped a lawsuit that attempted to block the sale.[84] As of July 2021, two Black-led redevelopment groups were vying for the chance to purchase the city's half of the site, one led by the African American Sports and Entertainment Group and the other by Dave Stewart and Lonnie Murray.[85] In November 2021, the council voted to move forward with the plan proposed by the African American Sports and Entertainment Group.[86]
Notable events[edit]
Raiders and A's move in[edit]
The Raiders played their first game at the stadium on September 18, 1966. In 1968, the Kansas City Athletics moved to Oakland and began play at the stadium. The Athletics' first game was played on April 17, 1968. The stadium complex cost $25.5 million ($239 million adjusted for inflation) to build and rests on 120 acres (49 ha) of land. On April 17, 1968, Boog Powell hit the first major league home run in the history of the Coliseum.[87] On May 8 of that year, Catfish Hunter pitched the ninth perfect game in Major League history at the Coliseum.[88] The Coliseum hosted the 1967 and 1969 AFL championship games. Additionally, the venue had hosted the second match of the NPSL Final 1967.
A Rolling Stones concert performed here in 1969 became the early bootleg Live'r Than You'll Ever Be.
