The Oakland Coliseum is one of the oldest venues in Major League Soccer (MLB), and it's been a long time without any much-needed changes.
But with the Athletics planning a move to Las Vegas, and the Raiders already there, what will happen to the city's beloved Coliseum moving forward — and what went wrong along the way? NBC Sports California's Brody Brazile recently sat down with MLB Cathedrals' Mark Anderson to discuss baseball's “Last Dive Bar.”
In Anderson's opinion, the former multi-purpose stadium was a model of its kind before the addition of the upper deck known as Mount Davis in 1996. That was the last real upgrade to the stadium, but it did little to improve the A's fans' experience.
“In order to bring the Raiders back from Los Angeles in the mid-1990s, they had to build Mount Davis, which completely ruined baseball,” Anderson told Brazil. “If you went back before that — and I was lucky enough to see some games there before Mount Davis was built — it was one of the best views of the Oakland Hills and baseball.
“So, I mean, they took a very bad turn there, and anyone who built a soccer stadium, pretty much, in the 1960s, a multi-purpose stadium — they've all been replaced now.”
But not the Colosseum, as Brazil noted that the stadium fell behind the curve when real improvements or renovations were not completed during the 1980s and early 1990s.
“Exactly,” Anderson replied. “If you look at Dodger Stadium, it's a perfect example. They took pride in continuing to look the way it did the day it was built.”
Brazil and Anderson delve deeper into the future of the Coliseum, the possibility of a new baseball stadium in Oakland and other topics, including:
- How does the new stadium on the Coliseum site compare to Howard Terminal Stadium?
- How do previous proposals for Howard Terminal Stadium compare to the league's existing plans?
- Anderson's opinion on the saga of the transfer of A
- Could the stadium realistically fit on the 9-acre A-site in Las Vegas?
- Are the A's going against MLB's wishes by planning a dome in Vegas?
- Was there a ballpark and resort on the same site, like Plan A for Vegas?
- How accurate are the upcoming Vegas stadium shows?
- Projections for the design of Stadium A in Las Vegas
Watch the full interview between Brazil and Anderson below:
