Oakland Coliseum

On March 27th of 2017, the National Football League officially approved the move of the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas. The Raiders plan on moving to Vegas before the 2019 season. This move from Oakland to Las Vegas marks the end of an era not only for the Raiders but also for their historic stadium, the Oakland Coliseum. When the Oakland Coliseum was first built in 1966, it was revolutionary. It combined America's two favorite sports, football and baseball, into one stadium. The stadium doubled as a stadium for the Oakland Athletics in the MLB and Oakland Raiders for the NFL. Its unique design and beautiful view of the mountains made it a fan favorite, but as time went on naturally the stadium began to deteriorate and become less popular.



Image of the Stadium in 1966 for an Oakland Athletics game.

In 1995 after the Raiders came back to Oakland after a brief stint in Los Angeles, the stadium underwent renovations to accommodate more people. These renovations blocked the iconic view of the mountains from the stadium, and increased the unpopularity of the stadium.

A picture of the somewhat recent renovations to the Coliseum.

The Oakland Coliseum shares many similarities with the Roman Colosseum built by Vespasian.  One of the defining features of the Oakland Coliseum is its ability to switch between a baseball or football stadium depending on its needs. This versatility is also present in the Roman Colosseum. In Rome, the Colosseum could be used for gladiator fights on day, then the next it could be flooded for naval battles for its viewers. Many people who visited the Coliseum in its early years said it reminded them of the Roman Colosseum due to its size and grand nature relative to other stadiums at the time. To Oakland this Coliseum served as the common space for many sporting events and seemed to be the center of Oakland sometimes. This is also true of the Roman Colosseum. During gladiator fights of naval battles, the Colosseum would be packed with eager fans rooting for violence, similarly to many football fans in Oakland. The Roman Colosseum could also be seen as the center and life of Rome at the time.