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The A’s, a team coming off a third-place finish in the AL West, continue to rot away in the outdated Coliseum.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 The Raiders, like the A’s, have grown tired of the outdated Coliseum and want out.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…)

With the A’s looking to move to a new stadium, a move from Oakland is looking more and more likely. Fans are understandably upset, but in order for the A’s to survive as a franchise a move to a new stadium is vital. Despite his criticisms for his failure for never having won a championship, A’s GM Billy Beane still remains one of baseball’s greatest minds. Beane has put together a pitching staff that, in my mind, has the foundation for another ‘Big Three.’ Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill and Gio Gonzalez are primed for successful major league careers (barring any injuries), and ideally the A’s would like to hold onto these players. With a new stadium, the A’s could have the chance of also gaining financial stability.

With their situation still unclear, however, the A’s are not going to be making any careless moves this winter. The A’s, who are expected to shed $20+ million this winter when they get both Ben Sheets and Eric Chavez off the books, will have money to spend. But despite this bigger budget, the A’s insist that it is only for this upcoming season. In other words, don’t expect them to have an excess of money every year. The A’s would like to lock up some of their younger guys, but they’d also like to showcase them in a new stadium. Once the A’s receive news about their current stadium issue, their future will likely become more clear, thus allowing Beane to evaluate the A’s options this winter.

**Also, you can take a look below to see the A’s attendance records as well. 2010 has yet to have been calculated…