Domino Effect of Oakland Sports

For just about all my life, Oakland has always had teams in various sports. They have baseball, football, and basketball as of now. It's part of the Bay area that includes the various San Francisco teams and others like San Jose with the NHL's Sharks. As the time has gone on lately, sports ain't as big a deal.

A lot has been said about the Raiders. In a couple years, they will be the Las Vegas Raiders. One of the big issues pertaining to it was the fact that their stadium, Oakland Coliseum, is a worn out relic of the 60s. Most stadiums shared both football and baseball. Maybe one or two other sports. After Camden Yards opened in 1992, the focus became single sport only venues, quickly becoming huge favorites in design. Oakland is one of the last few to share multiple sports. Ideally, having a baseball stadium in it does not bode well. Not a surprise why they are leaving.

Hockey and basketball go hand in hand for a lot of sports cities. Most teams in a city share one and quite a bit of these arenas are from the last 25 years or so, a few replacing old 1920s arenas. Oracle has housed many teams in California, but primarily the Golden State Warriors. The last five years have been kind for them, but the move to go back to San Francisco is a bit of a surprise to me. Then again, maybe it is the time to have a new place to call home for a very long time. Oracle is well over 50 years old and sooner or later, it would not be a place to have various sports venues.

Where does that leave the Athletics? I don't know. But they are going to stay in Oakland. However, like the Raiders, they are looking for a new home. That's where the last few months have seen ideas on where they can play. One of them is by a waterfront, similar to San Francisco and the water at Oracle Park's right field. However, this is a work in progress. Nothing is final. Oakland Coliseum is met with tons of criticism every year and it is a place most baseball teams dread.

I don't think it's a matter of competition, but just having a place that is adequate for both teams and fans. Oakland losing the Warriors and Raiders soon could trickle down to whatever happens to the A's. Long story short, it's not the most ideal place for sports in the eyes of the teams front offices and their respective leagues.