Monday, August 31, 2009

Official(!) Road Trip Stop #6: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, CA




8/31/2009
Royals 5 @ A's 8

Turns out I picked a real doozy to start off the official ballpark tour.

To put it nicely, there aren't many nice things to say about the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

Opened in 1966, the stadium definitely shows its age. It has undergone a pretty extensive renovation in order to accomodate the Oakland Raiders football team, but it probabaly isn't a very viable option for either team anymore.

The grandstand is reminiscent of Dodger Stadium, in that it is built into a hill, and you are able to enter all levels from the ground level without having to climb many stairs.

There is also a pretty cool Irish pub on the main concourse, and a good beer selection throughout the park. Pizza is provided by Round Table - very nice! The other food looks OK, but is pretty standard ballpark fare.

That's about all the good things I can say about the Coliseum.

It costs $17 to park at the Oakland Coliseum, almost more than what I payed for both tickets - combined. I recommend taking BART, which drops you off right at the ballpark.

Tailgating is allowed, but with how bad the A's have been, there wasn't much of a scene.

The crowd was nearly non-existant and very, very quiet. Granted, this night happened to be a matchup of two of the worst teams in the American League in late August, but even still, not even the die-hards were showing up for this one.

In short, don't feel too bad about missing a game at the Coliseum. It's not the worst stadium that I've ever been to, but definitely not worth a return trip.

I'm glad to cross this one off my list and look forward to Seattle's Safeco Field tomorrow!

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