Oakland Athletics - Stadium #5

 

I know we showed up early to be there when the gates opened, but the number of cars in the parking lot was surprisingly low.  I guess I had forgotten the images of how many people actually show up to games.  Oakland Coliseum is…exactly as described by people on the internet.  If the team stays, they definitely need a new stadium.  It had major Kingdome vibes, down to the trough urinal in the men’s bathroom (according to Jeremy). The concourse was very crowded considering the number of fans in the stadium or perhaps it was just smaller than I’m used to.  It was dimly lit and not very inviting.  One very noticeable thing on the concourse is how many of the concession stands were not open and how hard it was to find the souvenir cup.  I counted all but one stand selling bottled drinks (also, not a variety of soda choices which was sad).  I guess one plus of not having the same number of fans as the other stadiums is that the lines were almost non-existent.  Our seats were really far away from the “action” and having walked around the stadium to get to our seats, it seemed like there wasn’t a “close” seat in the whole park.  It was strange.  In our section there was one other family of 4 and then the next closest people were 3 sections over.  There were more seagulls sitting and watching from the roofline, than there were fans near us.  Perhaps these seagulls came over from San Francisco to watch the game and that’s why I didn’t see them at Oracle.  The seats themselves were surprisingly comfortable considering they were stadium seats.  For a stadium that desperately needs updating, none of the seats were broken.  I did enjoy some of the things they did in between innings to keep the “crowd” engaged.  As far as various sound effects during the game play, the chanting of “sell the team” was the most I heard. This hotdog was a thicc boi.  It had a really good, meaty flavor and the bun was just soft enough, but it was so big that neither Jeremy or I could finish ours and this was to be our dinner.  However, it’s still not as good as the hotdog from Petco Park, but I’d still rank it high. The Athletics played the Rangers on August 8, 2023 at 6:40 pm and we sat in section 310, row 2.  The price I paid for the tickets to this game was $15 and it seemed dirt cheap.  Though, if I ever found myself at another Athletics game, I would spring for better tickets on a lower level to be “closer” to the field. If you want to see the box score, here’s a link