Walking Around the Coliseum, Post-A's
It feels like a relic from a long-ago past now.
IT’S BEEN A LITTLE over two months since the Oakland Athletics held their final game at the Oakland Coliseum1, and already the place feels like…
Like.
Shit. I don’t know.
The Oakland Roots Soccer Club, a member of the United Soccer League, will begin playing there in March 2025, and could stick around for 2026 as they attempt to build their own venue on an empty plot to the south, just off the parking lot. Already, modifications have been made to convert the playing surface into one suitable for a professional soccer league. Where there had once been a dirt baseball infield is now entirely grass, the new sod clearly distinguishable from the outfield grass that had been there before. The bullpens are gone, the mound and home plate areas having received the same botanical treatment as the infield. The weathersheds, where the relief pitchers resided during games, are gone. I spotted one of the bullpen folding chairs plopped down in Section 107.
You are probably wondering what the hell I was doing there on a random Sunday.
The Roots were holding a “Select Your Seat” event, in which season-ticketholders who had a $5.10 deposit in the books were afforded the opportunity to wander the Coliseum’s lower deck and pick out seats with views catered to their individual preferences. After spending the entire day before cooped up inside, watching the college football conference championship tilts (with a splash of Cal Bears and Golden State Warriors basketball games thrown in good measure/pleasure/despair), I relished the opportunity to get outside for a few hours. Plus, I had RSVP’d for the thing a couple of weeks earlier.
I already had a rough idea ahead of time where I would be sitting, so I didn’t need much time to consider the options. Really, it was about putting in some work on the ol’ Fitness app — as it turned out, I clocked in over 12,700 steps that day — seeing what friends I would run into, and checking out how the Coliseum, post-A’s.
First, some video and photos of the playing surface.
Unlike the Raiders’ gridiron alignment, which ran directly across the field, the Roots have situated their soccer pitch from the first-base dugout in a slightly northeastern direction, with the opposite goal in what used to be left field. As a result, the trapezoidal sections of removable seats that make up much of the front halves of Sections 108-111 (south side) and 123-126 (north side) will remain in place for Roots games.
Due to the glare of direct sunlight beaming down onto the turf, the soccer lines are barely perceptible from longer distances, but much clearer close up.
While the playing surface is being cared for, the concourse felt forlorn. I’ve traversed that walkway numerous times over the past twenty-plus years, and even during low-attendance games it always felt at least a little bit lively.
Upon entering Gate D at the start of the event, even before reaching the Roots’ check-in table, I was greeted by the sight of a now-empty team store. Where there had once been jerseys, hats, shirts, and trinkets, was now … empty space.
The old dugout store, located in the concourse near Gate D. Completely emptied out. I occasionally bought packs of baseball cards from the dugout store in recent years; in past years I got media guides and programs and pins from there.
The game-used memorabilia is gone, but the leftover display cabinets are a reminder of when you used to drop $175 on a jersey once worn by a utility infielder who played a total of seventeen games in his career.
I procured many, many tallboys of Mango Cart and Space Dust within the walls pictured above. Despite the Budweiser logo prominently featured on the fridge, you could get all sorts of beer brands and styles. The self checkout was a breeze, too, but you were always reminded by an employee stationed there to open your beer before exiting. This was The Market, formerly the Budweiser Bowtie (around 2013-14), and, for many years before that, this space was a team store.
The Round Table Pizza stand is no more. Even the beer fridge is gone. I definitely felt this one.
After all was said and done, I still had the experience of pissing in a trough urinal. This is something that will carry over into the Roots’ tenancy period here.
Not only that, it sounds like many of the concession stands on the lower level will be reactivated, too!
For whatever it’s worth, I think there’s a strong possibility this whole attempt to move to Vegas implodes, and the A’s could wind up back here in 2026.