The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, better known as "Oakland Coliseum'' or just "the Coliseum'', is an outdoor stadium located in Oakland, California. Home to the NFL's Oakland Raiders and Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics, it is also occupied by Major League Soccer's San Jose Earthquakes. The venue has also been host to a number of concerts, with performances over the years by superstars such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Madonna, Earth Wind and Fire, U2, the Rolling Stones, and even Led Zeppelin's final North American concerts back in 1977.
The Coliseum opened September 18, 1966 with a game between the Oakland Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs. It cost 25.5 million to build and is owned by the City of Oakland and Alameda County. In 1995 - 1996, the Coliseum underwent renovations, totaling $120 million, which added 22,000 new seats, two new scoreboards, 90 luxury suites, and two private clubs.
Formerly known as McAfee Coliseum, with a name change due to a contract expiration in 2008, the Coliseum is one of the United States' only multipurpose venues that is home to both an NFL and an MLB team. Because of this, the stadium's capacity can greatly vary depending on the event being held. Seating for soccer games can hold as many as 47,416 fans. As for football games, the capacity is 63,026, while baseball games offer room for 35,067.
The reason for the lower number of seating available for MLB games is due to a set of seats nicknamed by A's fans as "Mount Davis'' or "the AL-ps'', mocking Al Davis, the owner of the Raiders. The reason for this is due to the steep, narrow design of the seats, which also blocks out the view of the Oakland hills and gives the stadium an appearance more like one of a football stadium. These seats are typically covered during the baseball season, though if opened would greatly increase the stadium's capacity for baseball games.
The Coliseum offers patrons two clubs available for rent, the West Side Club and the East Side Club. The West Side Club, located on the second level of the stadium, presents a wonderful view of the playing field. It is also home to the longest sports bar in northern California. The club itself has room for 1,000 patrons and is 20,000 sq. ft. in size.
The East Side Club, being a much larger 40,000 sq. ft., has a 45' high ceiling and space for up to 3,000 guests. With two full-service bars, two additional smaller bars, and over 40 TVs dispersed throughout the club, this portion of the stadium is great for larger gatherings, or can even be partitioned for smaller events. The East Side Club also offers access to three conference rooms. East and West Side luxury suites are also available and are fully furnished, offering TVs, comfortable seating, and other amenities.
The Coliseum is also known to have the largest foul territory in the MLB, leading to more foul balls being caught rather than flying into the stands. The playing field, comprised of bluegrass, adds a more natural feel to the open-roofed venue.
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