Oakland Coliseum

Originally named the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum, the stadium was constructed deep in the ground, allowing fans to enter the stadium on the upper level and walk down to the field level seats. Completed in four years the Raiders played their first game at the coliseum on September 18, 1966.The Oakland Coliseum had 45,000 seats when it opened. Designed to be multipurpose, the Raiders were the sole tenant of the coliseum for two years. After the 1967, the Kansas City A’s (MLB) moved to Oakland, and began playing at the stadium in 1968. The Oakland Coliseum was built more for baseball than football. Many of the 45,000 seats were in three tiers from the right field foul pole and circling around to the left field foul pole. Bleacher seats were beyond the outfield wall. The Oakland Coliseum was converted two ways from baseball to football when the A’s moved into the stadium. The MLB season overlapped the first couple of weeks of the NFL season. During this time, the NFL gridiron was located between home plate and centerfield, making the conversion process simpler. Once baseball was over, the gridiron was located along the first and third base areas.

For over 20 years the Raiders played at the Oakland Coliseum. In the late 1970s Raiders owner Al Davis wanted the coliseum to be renovated to include additional luxury suites in order for the team to bring in additional revenue. The city decided not to renovate the stadium and after the 1981 season the Raiders moved to Los Angeles. Shortly after moving to the Los Angeles, Davis wanted a new stadium to replace the Los Angeles Coliseum because it lacked luxury suites, was in a bad neighborhood and the Raiders had to share it with USC (NCAA). Davis failed to receive support for a new stadium and by the late 1980s it appeared that the Raiders may move back to Oakland. Negotiations between the City of Oakland and the Raiders began in 1989 and in March 1991 Davis announced that the team would move back to Oakland. However in September 1991, negotiations failed and the Raiders announced they were staying in Los Angeles.

After the negotiations between the Raiders and the City of Oakland failed in 1991, the city began to work out a new agreement to get the team to come back to the Oakland Coliseum. The team and the city reached an agreement and in June 1995 Al Davis announced the Raiders were moving back to Oakland. In November 1995, a $200 million project began to add over 22,000 seats to the stadium. All of the outfield bleachers were removed and replaced with a four tier grandstand, that includes 125 luxury suites. The Raiders moved back into the coliseum for the 1996 season. In 1998, the Oakland Coliseum was renamed Network Associates Coliseum. The stadium received a new name after the 2004 NFL season, McAfee Coliseum, but is now known as Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum again. Since the addition to the coliseum, it has become more of a football stadium than a baseball stadium.