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McAfee Coliseum formerly Network Associates Coliseum
On a stretch of land near an Oakland freeway, Alameda county broke ground for the Coliseum, Sports Arena, and Exhibition Hall. Completed in 1966 with only the Oakland Raiders as tenants, the $25.5 million complex lured the Athletics from Kansas City in 1968 and the Warriors from Philadelphia. Although the Coliseum held 48,219 spectators for baseball, the A's didn't draw 1 million fans in a season until 1973, reaching that level only twice in their first 13 years in Oakland.
The Coliseum has been home to some of the biggest names in baseball. Jim "Catfish" Hunter, Reggie Jackson and Rollie Fingers were A's teammates in the early 1970s. Dick Williams, Alvin Dark, Chuck Tanner, Billy Martin, and Tony La Russa were all managers in Oakland. In the late-1980s the Coliseum became home to another group of Oakland stars: Rookie of the Year winners Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, and Walt Weiss helped produce three consecutive American League titles beginning in 1988 and a World Series title won in the "Bay Bridge" series sweep against the San Francisco Giants in 1989. In the Coliseum, "Catfish" Hunter pitched a perfect game in 1968 and Rickey Henderson broke Lou Brock's stolen base record in 1991.
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