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McAfee Coliseum

At present, with over 60,000 seats McAfee Coliseum looks very different than when it opened. In the mid 1940s Oakland officials first proposed that a new stadium be built in the area to attempt to attract a professional baseball and football team. It was 1960 before a site was chosen to build the stadium, near the C.W. Nimitz Freeway.

The construction on the multipurpose stadium began in 1962. The stadium was constructed deep in the ground allowing fans to enter on the upper deck level. Named the Oakland Coliseum it was completed in four years. The Oakland Raiders played the first game ever at the Oakland Coliseum on September 18, 1966. Two Diamond Vision video scoreboards were located above both the left and right field bleachers.

Over the years, few changes took place at the Oakland Coliseum. The Raiders moved out of the coliseum to Los Angeles in 1981 but moved back in 1995. The coliseum remained an outstanding place to watch a ballgame until 1995 when the Raiders moved back as drastic changed occurred at the Oakland Coliseum. As part of an agreement when the Raiders moved back to Oakland, the coliseum was expanded.

All of the outfield bleachers were removed replaced by a four-tier section of 22,000 seats. All of the orange seats were replaced by new green seats. The video boards are now above the stadium rim down both the left and right field lines. The coliseum was renamed Umax Coliseum in 1997, but was later renamed Network Associates Coliseum in 1998.

After the 2004 season, the stadium was renamed again and is now known as McAfee Coliseum. Since 2000, the A's have been a great team at the stadium winning numerous division championships and the wild card. During the past several seasons, the team has been able to draw over two million fans to McAfee Coliseum each season. Presently, the A’s are exploring options of building a new stadium. Beginning in 2006, the A's closed the third deck of McAfee Coliseum moving fans closer to the action and making the stadium more intimate. Although McAfee Coliseum can seat over 60,000, the official capacity is just over 34,000.

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