Oakland A's

History of McAfee ColiseumThe essence of the original Alameda County Coliseum wooed the Kansas City A's franchise to Oakland and the first Oakland A's game was played on April 17, 1968 vs. the Baltimore Orioles.Constructed in 1966 at a cost of $25.5 million and resting on 120 acres, the McAfee Coliseum is a multi-use sports complex home for the Oakland Athletics Baseball Company and Oakland's NFL franchise.A coliseum renovation project began in November 1995 and proceeded through the 1996 baseball season. The A's played their first few home games of the 1996 season in Las Vegas while work crews installed new seats in the Coliseum.The project removed the outfield bleachers but added two 40,000-square-foot clubs, 22,000 seats, 125 luxury suites, a 9000-square-foot kitchen, two new color video boards and two-matrix scoreboard. Since the renovation, more than 91 million people have passed through the turnstiles. The crowd-pleaser know as "The Wave" made its first known appearance in baseball on October 15, 1981.Stadium seating capacity is now more than 50,000 and the Coliseum has been home to some of the biggest names in baseball. Jim "Catfish" Hunter pitched the first perfect game here; Reggie Jackson and Rollie Fingers were A's teammates in the early 1970s; and Rickey Henderson broke Lou Brock's stolen base record in 1991.Dick Williams, Alvin Dark, Chuck Tanner, Billy Martin, and Tony La Russa were all managers in Oakland. In the late-1980s the Coliseum became home to another group of Oakland stars: Rookie of the Year winners Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, and Walt Weiss. This trio helped produce three consecutive American League titles beginning in 1988 and a World Series title won in the Bay Bridge series sweep against the San Francisco Giants in 1989. Five minutes from downtown Oakland and Oakland International Airport, McAfee Coliseum is connected to a local Bay Area Rapid Transit station, (B.A.R.T.). Interstate 880 runs north and south on the west side of the Coliseum to deliver full access to all bay area transit routes. Hotels, restaurants, and entertainment are just minutes away in every direction. San Francisco and all its amenities can be visited by cab, car or B.A.R.T.Plenty of parking is available for every home game and often fans gather hours before for tailgate parties.