Professional sports teams are loved by millions, and in many cases where they play can be just as important as the team itself.
Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, Madison Square Garden, and the Rose Bowl are just some of the many legendary stadiums that have housed some of the greatest teams, games, and players of all time. There are even, in some cases, seen as “temples” in the eyes of sports fanatics, places fans make pilgrimages to.
The Bay Area has had no shortage of well-known stadiums. From Oracle Arena to AT&T Park, the Bay is filled with professional sports venues. Although in the past few years and in the upcoming years, the sports stadium scene is getting shaken up.
In 2011, the city of Santa Clara announced that it would break ground on a new stadium, and the San Francisco 49ers had their eyes set on it. The 49ers agreed to move to the newly named Levi’s Stadium, and leave their longtime home, Candlestick Park.
“The Stick,” as it was commonly referred to, housed the 49ers from 1971 to 2013 and the San Francisco Giants from 1960 to 2000. It also served as the venue for the last Beatles concert in 1971. 49ers and Giants fan both almost worshipped the stadium with extensive tailgating and recalling old memories like “The Catch.”
The 49ers may have sparked something because now the Warriors, Raiders and A’s are going to follow in their footsteps.
The Golden State Warriors announced that the 2018-19 season would be there last in Oracle Arena. The stadium has been the home of Warrior basketball since 1971. On Jan. 17, 2017, Warriors top executives, including MV alumnus Bob Myers, broke ground on the new Chase Center located south of the Bay Bridge.
“Thinking about the idea of an arena in San Francisco… it’s been an undercurrent of growing up here for me,” Myers said in an interview in April of 2018 about the Chase Center. “And to see it happening, I’m very excited.”
The Warriors arena neighbors, the Oakland Athletics announced just a few months ago that they would also be moving to a new stadium. The team told their fans that they plan to build a new stadium on the water at Howard Terminal in Oakland. The A’s have played in the Oakland Coliseum since 1968, but rumors have been swirling around their departure from the stadium for more than a decade.
The A’s have shared the Coliseum with the Oakland Raiders for many years, but they too plan to leave, but will not stay in Oakland, nor California.
The Raiders are not shy about moving around, in fact, they have already done it more than once. The Raiders began in Oakland, but moved to Los Angeles during 1980s, and then returned to Oakland in 1994. And in 2017 the Raiders announced they would leave once again, this time for Sin City.
The new stadium, for now, is going to named the “Las Vegas Stadium” and will also house UNLV football. The Raiders will also be changing their team name to the Las Vegas Raiders, although the stadium will not be finished until late 2020, causing a dilemma for the Raiders 2019-2020 season.
The Raiders are not being permitted to play in Oakland in the 2019-20 NFL season due to lawsuits from the city of Oakland. This leaves the Raiders with no place to play football next season, although Raiders owners plan to try to play in San Francisco at the newly renamed Oracle Park (formerly known as AT&T Park).
The problem for the Raiders, if they want to play in San Francisco, is that the 49ers still own territorial rights to the city, even though they currently play in Santa Clara. The 49ers would have to allow the Raiders to play in S.F. through NFL approval.
“I’m not a Raiders fan at all, and to see them play in San Francisco, for even one season, would frustrate me,” junior Cameron Roth said. “It would be like switching the home cities of the Giants and A’s.”
With both the tenants of the Oakland Coliseum leaving in the near future, plans for the vacant space are up in the air. Some want it demolished for housing and others, like the Oakland Athletics organization, want to build a public space. The Coliseum also has a deep tie to Monte Vista as it was the sight of MV football’s first NCS Championship in 1987. The Stangs beat the De La Salle Spartans by a final score of 14-13 in that game.