NETWORK ASSOCIATES COLISEUM

Network Associates Coliseum, located at 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland, CA 94621, is the home of the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League and the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball. The stadium can hold more than 63,000 people and the games are played on a natural grass surface. Officials of the city began proposing the idea of a new stadium in the 1940s, but it wasn’t until 1960 that a plan was designed, and in 1992, the groundbreaking procedures took place on what was to become Network Associates Coliseum. The stadium, which was a definite upgrade from the previous stadium Frank Youell Field, was completed in four years. Frank Youell Field had a capacity around 20,000, so the new Network Associates Stadium would allow more fans into the park and would increase revenues for the team. The idea in the construction was to build the stadium well into the ground so fans would enter the stadium from the upper levels.

The Raiders were the only team to occupy Network Associates Stadium for the first two seasons, but before the 1968 season, the Oakland Athletics made the move from Kansas City. Things went relatively smoothly for the next few years, but after the 1981 season, the team moved to Los Angeles and the Oakland Athletics were the only team to play in Network Associates Coliseum for more than 10 years. When the Raiders moved back to town in 1995, Network Associates Coliseum underwent a large renovation project to add more than 22,000 seats on the grounds. All of the outfield bleachers were removed and replaced with a four tier grandstand, which included 125 luxury suites. The total cost of the renovation project was in the vicinity of $200 million. The stadium was originally more of a baseball stadium than a football stadium, but over the years and through the renovations, football has slowly become the biggest investment for Network Associates Coliseum.

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