The Shifting Landscape of Bay Area Sports
When the Oakland Coliseum housed its first game between the Oakland Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League in September 1966, the start of a legacy began. The Bay Area had never experienced the magnitude of sports they were about to experience in the years to come. In November of that same year, the neighboring Oakland Arena showcased its first game, a battle between the Oakland Seals and San Diego Gulls of the National Hockey League. This was the start of a generational shift in Bay Area athletics.
When the A’s moved from Philadelphia to Kansas City and eventually to Oakland in 1968, they held the bragging rights of five World Series championships, all within the span of 20 years. Once the AFL and NFL merged in 1970, the Bay Area seemed set with entertaining sports teams. To add more icing on the cake, the Golden State Warriors found their new home at Oakland Arena in 1971, officially placing three major sports teams within walking distance of each other. That same year, the San Francisco 49ers began their dominance at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
Being born and raised in the Bay Area has taught me the importance of fan loyalty and commitment. The die-hard and emotional feeling that Bay Area sports fans express is contagious and keeps us coming back to games. Regular season games feel like the seventh game of the NBA finals across the Warriors, A’s, Giants, Raiders, 49ers, and Sharks. Although, the Sharks can’t hide from being last in the league last year. From tailgating before and after the game to packing arenas in team colors, you feel a sense of encouragement and optimism, even if the game is not going as expected. It is difficult to beat the atmosphere that six different teams bring.
Subtly, things started to shift, beginning with the 49ers moving from San Francisco to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara following the 2013-2014 season. In June 2019, the Warriors played their last game in Oakland Arena, relocating across the water to the Chase Center in downtown San Francisco. In 2020, the now Las Vegas Raiders announced their full departure from the Bay Area, leaving for the second time and leaving behind two Super Bowls won in Oakland. Three years later, MLB ownership unanimously approved the A’s move from Oakland to Las Vegas, leaving South Coliseum Way completely vacant. The reason for both the Raiders and A’s leaving the Bay Area was chalked down to money, specifically friction between the two teams requiring improvements to their shared stadium.
Many questions have emerged about what will happen to the Oakland stadiums, but other than concerts, holiday festivities, and an unlikely– but hopeful– sports team reunion, there are two massive, unused facilities. It may take a couple of years, but I hope that there is a team that brings the lost energy back to Oakland.