Wasting Away in the Coliseum? (Photo courtesy of Swingin A's.com)

While the Oakland A’s and Oakland Raiders play in two different professional sports, the two team franchises do happen to share the same dumpy stadium in Oakland. O.co Coliseum, previously known as the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, is home of the MLB’s Oakland A’s and the NFL’s Oakland Raiders. Both franchises, however, have no interest in staying in the cavernous Coliseum for much longer.

The A’s, a team coming off a third-place finish in the AL West, continue to rot away in the outdated Coliseum. The Raiders, a team on the rise after the passing of their fiery owner Al Davis, have also expressed an interest in relocating elsewhere.

MLB Commissioner Bud Selig appointed a special committee to oversee the A’s stadium options nearly three years ago. No answer from that committee has been released.

The A’s have been quietly, and patiently I might add, waiting for a yes or no answer regarding the team’s wish to relocate to San Jose. The Raiders, like the A’s, have grown tired of the outdated Coliseum and want out.

John Shea, a writer for the SF Chronicle, mentions in a recent post about the A’s stadium debacle that the Raiders may pursue a deal where they would share a stadium with bay area rival SF 49er’s in Santa Clara. Shea regards this possible joint-stadium proposal as the Raiders’ best shot at getting out of the confines of the Coliseum.

Interestingly enough, Shea suggests that the A’s, if denied the right to move to San Jose, could remain in Oakland as the sole tenants of O.co Coliseum. That’s assuming the Raiders pack up and leave. But, would that be any better? Sure, the organization could try to renovate the Coliseum as Shea suggests, but would that really help?

Probably not. At least to me it doesn’t. The A’s need a fresh start. Period. (more…)

The A’s stadium situation remains an unsolved one, and MLB Commissioner Bud Selig really hasn’t taken much action except for appointing a “special” committee to review the team’s remaining stadium options in Oakland. Anyway, the fact that Oakland’s minor league affiliates play in better ballparks than the big-league team is actually quite embarrassing.

This is a pressing issue that needs to be address with the complete and full attention of Major League Baseball, and further delay or an unwillingness by Selig to address this issue should not be tolerated. The A’s, and more importantly, their fans, have waited long enough. This waiting game that Selig and MLB has the A’s playing right now is unacceptable.

Anyway, the folks at Stadiumjourney.com have graciously sent over their full review of both O.co Coliseum and Banner Island Ballpark. Stadium Journey Regional Correspondent Ryan Norris reviews O.co Coliseum and gives the stadium a score of 2.9/5. He ranks Stockton’s Banner Island Ballpark with a score of 3.9/5. You can check out more stadium reviews by heading over to Stadium Journey just by clicking the link.