OAKLAND - Overstock.com Coliseum (63,132)

[rantanamo]

Originally Posted by Archbishop

But it was the football team that added Mt. Davis

At least for football purposes, Mt. Davis is good. The round stand layout has never worked that well for either sport.

[mrakbaseball]

In the '60s, '70s and early '80s, was portable seating placed in front of the existing bleachers for football games? To access that seating, you had to use the stairs that are still present behind the LF and RF walls. Is that correct?

[Marckymarc]

Originally Posted by mrakbaseball

In the '60s, '70s and early '80s, was portable seating placed in front of the existing bleachers for football games? To access that seating, you had to use the stairs that are still present behind the LF and RF walls. Is that correct?

http://football.ballparks.com/NFL/Oa...s/oldindex.htm

Not sure about how those seats were accessed.


http://www.bay-area-sports-blog.com/...iders/page/17/

[Marckymarc]

I just noticed something in those photos I posted...No scoreboards!

[Anubis2051]

Originally Posted by Marckymarc

http://football.ballparks.com/NFL/Oa...s/oldindex.htm

Not sure about how those seats were accessed.


http://www.bay-area-sports-blog.com/...iders/page/17/

They were accesed through the big stairwells in the outfield poweralleys.
They're still there today (every once in a while a HR will land there)

It's basically head on in this photo. The big gray area:


You can see both of them from this shot, and the one it RF even appears to be open!

[Marckymarc]

Originally Posted by Anubis2051

They were accesed through the big stairwells in the outfield poweralleys.
They're still there today (every once in a while a HR will land there)

Where were the concessions and restrooms for those original seats? Did those fans have to go way up to the plaza level for a beer?

[Marckymarc]

How many years did the Coliseum not have a scoreboard?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghostoffire/3609832766/

[will101]

Originally Posted by Marckymarc

Where were the concessions and restrooms for those original seats? Did those fans have to go way up to the plaza level for a beer?

The best answer is 'sort of'. If you look at the post card with the curvy edge (football on the left), you see a people walking around just above the not-yet-used baseball bleachers. Back there were the concession stands used for the temporary football bleachers (and they were really just bench bleacher seats out there, while the rest of the stadium is chair seating). But the Raiders did have a a lot of walking vendors hawking beer, soda and hot dogs out there, so it wasn't as bad as it seemed.

[will101]

Originally Posted by Marckymarc

How many years did the Coliseum not have a scoreboard?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghostoffire/3609832766/

It was never without any scoreboards. What happened was they were originally planned for the deep outfield, but when the place opened the Raiders were the only tenant. Since a view of the deep outfield would be blocked by the temporary seats (and to save money), they came up with a temporary solution. At each end of the football field there are mid 60s light bulb versions of the ribbon boards so common nowadays, on the facade of second level. It basically gave just the score, the inning or quarter, and the down/to go/ball on area becomes ball/strike/out. Add a clock at one end and you have a scoreboard. And the pic that you posted (from opening night of 1968, the only sellout the A's had until the 72 World Series) shows that unchanged.

But Charlie Finley had plans for those wide open spaces. Each of the two outfield light stands would soon hold a large (100 X 30) scoreboard. The first one, in right field, was up and running by June of 1968. It's counterpart in left field was ready for the 1969 season. These were each remove during the 1995 construction of Mount Davis, but the older ribbon boards are still there (in an updated form). They are visible in the pic below.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hercwad...4658/lightbox/

[mrakbaseball]

This pic from 2003 shows future Oakland Athletic Kurt Suzuki throwing in front of the old orange seats from the Coliseum at Anchorage's Mulcahy Stadium. In 1998, several hundred seats that were formerly used at the Oakland Coliseum were installed at Mulcahy Stadium's box seats behind the dugouts. Those seats were then replaced in 2004, although there are still around 58 or so seats from Oakland remaining in front of the 3rd base clubhouse building as well as the 5-row grandstand at Kenai, Alaska's Coral Seymour Park.

[JJG]

I look at Mt. Davis and think that this stadium could be renovated to where the other sideline should look similar and the endzones would be straight.

Of course, alot of things have to happen first. The A's getting their own building, for one....

[Darloeye]

I liked this stadium before mt Davis. Now it just sucks hope the plans for the new stadium happen soon. The diamond seems to be a long way from the stands. Also the yankees suck

[will101]

Originally Posted by Darloeye

I liked this stadium before mt Davis. Now it just sucks hope the plans for the new stadium happen soon. The diamond seems to be a long way from the stands. Also the yankees suck

That's a good point. The fans are so far away in Oakland, its like a football or soccer stadium with a running track between the field and stands.

[Darloeye]

Originally Posted by will101

That's a good point. The fans are so far away in Oakland, its like a football or soccer stadium with a running track between the field and stands.

Yeah you seem to be closer to the Football field than the baseball field in that stadium. Don't know why its designed like that ? But it was designed before the computers came in and it was a mutli-use stadium ( just answered my own question)

[Jericho-79]

The Coliseum now has yet another new name:

Overstock.com Coliseum

Wow...

[diz]

haha gross.

[will101]

The reaction around here is pretty much 'Oh boy, another corporate name that we can ignore!'

The really bad part is that for six years they are only getting $7.2 million. I wonder if Al Davis negotiated that price himself.

[GaForce]

Originally Posted by Jericho-79

The Coliseum now has yet another new name:

Overstock.com Coliseum

Wow...

LOLOLOL....I just spit out my drink when i read this...

[Benn]

Could be worse.... Could be the KFC Yum! Center, now that makes me want to vomit.

[KingmanIII]

How could nobody have posted this yet?