McAfee Coliseum
From SoSH
| Location: | Oakland, California |
| Opened: | 1966 |
| Owner: | City of Oakland and Alameda County. |
| Surface: | Bluegrass |
| Architect: | Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (1966) HNTB (1996) |
| Current Capacity: | 48,219 |
| Build Cost: | $25.5 Million (1966) $200 Million (1996 Renovations) |
| Tenants: | Oakland Athletics (1968 - Present) Oakland Raiders (NFL) |
Contents |
Stadium History
On a stretch of land near an Oakland freeway, Alameda county broke ground for the Coliseum and Sports Arena. Completed in 1966 with only the Oakland Raiders as tenants, the $25.5 million complex lured the Athletics from Kansas City in 1968 and the Warriors from San Francisco in 1971. Although the Coliseum held 48,219 spectators for baseball, the A’s didn’t draw 1 million fans in a season until 1973, reaching that level only twice in their first 13 years in Oakland.
The Coliseum has been home to some of the biggest names in baseball. Jim "Catfish" Hunter, Reggie Jackson and Rollie Fingers were A's teammates in the early 1970s. Dick Williams, Alvin Dark, Chuck Tanner, [Billy Martin]], and Tony La Russa were all managers in Oakland. In the late-1980s the Coliseum became home to another group of Oakland stars: Rookie of the Year winners Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, and Walt Weiss helped produce three consecutive American League titles beginning in 1988 and a World Series title won in the "Bay Bridge" series sweep against the San Francisco Giants in 1989. In the Coliseum, "Catfish" Hunter pitched a perfect game in 1968 and Rickey Henderson broke Lou Brock’s stolen base record in 1991.
Trivia
- Surrounded by a beautiful green iceplant slope.
- Backstop is a notch cut in the stands.
- It was once possible to watch games for free from the concourse behind the field seats by peering between wooden slats in the cyclone fence.
- Hosted the 1987 All-Star game.
- Called "the Mausoleum" by some, the term gained popularity in the late 1970s when the scoreboard didn’t work, the entire stadium was gray concrete in color, and the A’s were terrible.
- Expansive foul territory reduces batting average by roughly five to seven points, making this the best pitcher’s park in the AL.
- Fans sitting at the foul poles can catch home run fair balls by reaching in front of the foul pole screens.
- On September 4, 2002, a crowd of 55,528 watched the A's break the American League record for consecutive wins by winning their 20th game in a row. The official capacity of 48,219 does not include upper deck seating in the outfield, which was built for football.
- The Athletics closed the third deck for the 2006 season, decreasing seating capacity to 34,077.
- Retired numbers: Jim "Catfish Hunter" (27) in 1990, Rollie Fingers (34) in 1993, Reggie Jackson (9) in 2004 & Dennis Eckersley (43) in 2005.
Field Dimensions
| Left Field | Left Center | Center Field | Right Center | Right Field |
| 330' | 375' | 400' | 375' | 330' |
Wall Height
| Left Field | Center Field | Right Field | Power Alleys |
| 8’ | 8’ | 8’ | 16’ |
Ground Rules
In addition to adhering to the Universal Ground Rules, McAfee Coliseum employs the following ground rules:
OUTFIELD AREA
- Batted ball striking face of out-of-town scoreboard: In Play.
- Batted ball striking above face of out of town scoreboard (above yellow line on top of scoreboard): Home Run
BULLPEN AREA
- Ball lodging on, under or in the bullpen seating area: Out of Play.
- Ball enters the bullpen seating area and rebounds out of the seating area: In Play.
External Links
- Update
