The Raiders were in the Oakland Coliseum first. The A's joined them a few years after it was built. The design you showed at 10:00 was, in fact, the original football configuration for the multi-purpose stadium. Mount Davis was built to lure the Raiders BACK to Oakland after they had left for LA.
The Raiders played in San Francisco first, in 1960 and 1961, at Kezar Stadium for part of 1960 and then only Candlestick Park for all of 1961. That was well before the stadium was enclosed for the 49ers. They also wore black and gold back then, before Al Davis bullied his way onto the team and changed the colors in 1963, when by then they were playing at Laney Jr. College in Oakland. San Francisco was gracious to allow the Raiders a place to play their first two years, because Cal said no to them to using Memorial Stadium.
You are spot on. I grew up in the Oakland Coliseum. I bleed green and gold. Even though I'm still a Niners fan first, which my Raiders brother still (in fun) pisses him off 😅
The Oakland Coliseum was a great place to watch a ballgame before Raiders ownership destroyed it. Views of the east hills over center field. The A's had an amazing team culture back in the day, and I'm saying this as a Yankee fan.
Alameda County/City of Oakland were really the ones who destroyed it by building Mt. Davis, catering to the Raiders return. Although the A's would have needed a new ballpark at some point due to massive foul ground and lack of suites.
It's become a sad situation- the new stadium proposal on the waterfront was a great direction, but the development package excluding the stadium itself seemed really excessive (like $10B in additional real estate developments?) and then it stuck the city with $88m+ in required infrastructure? It seemed misguided from the beginning.
The old ballpark had personality and charm, it felt classic and modern - the new park feels similar to Houston, but without the personality. It feels big and clunky in terms of design.
I agree. They could have at least brought some of the quirky elements of Arlington stadium into the new park like the retro grandstand and the elegent office area in center field. The new place just looks boring.
What is now Choctaw Stadium was quite nice as a stadium. Unfortunately, they never considered a retractable roof in the original design so it got way too hot during day games.
In Texas, you would think that when it was built that they will know that the Sun would be a problem. No one had the foresight to understand that seemingly. PS, love that I discovered your channel.
Texas stadium is another one. It was going to be the first retractable roof but the existing roof wasn't able to support the retractable roof. It was going to be ahead of its time but it wasn't able to due to the technology being too ahead of its times.
Texas stadium opened in 1971 before being closed in 2008. It was an old outdated stadium despite the fact they abandoned the retractable roof idea. I think that stadium gets a pass.
I worked out of Alaska for a year, so I flew in and out of Seattle a few times. Saw the Seahawks, the Mariners and a U2 concert at the Kingdome. That place was an Astrodome era cavern. And I grew up an A's fan in the Oakland Coliseum.
It's easy to be critical of stadiums given 20/20 hindsight and no budget constraints. Most of these facilities were built before much of the modern roof technology was available, and their builders didn't have unlimited money. It often costs as much or more to retrofit an existing building as it does to build new.
Montreal's Olympic Stadium stands adjacent to a Metro line, right between two metro stations, where the air displacement at times is such that the Kevlar roof ripped, had to be patched up and reinforced to prevent that from happening again... Though the design was suitable for the 1976 Summer Olympics, cost overruns were such that the entire Olympic complex was fully paid off only a few short years ago. Plus, at the time of the Games, the tower hadn't even been started and the roof was non-existent. (These were completed over 10 years later!)
I believe with the Ballpark in Arlington, they originally proposed a retractable roof back in the 90s when the stadium was being developed. But for whatever reason, they opted to go without the retractable roof. And 25 years later, the Rangers end up building another new ballpark, this time with a retractable roof.
You could have included Metropolitan Stadium in this too. When the Washington Senators moved to Minnesota and became the Twins, Metropolitan Stadium only had 3 decks from dugout to dugout. The 1st base (2 decks) grandstand was added, but they left those dumb bleachers along the 3rd base side. Being on the north side of the stadium, there was no wind obstruction from the north winter wind for Vikings games. Plus they added the huge football grandstand for the Vikings in left field that didn't fit. Then the Kicks Major league Soccer team was created mid 70's, and the grounds keepers just couldn't keep up with the turf damage. It would have been a great stadium for baseball only. Kind of like a smaller version of Dodger Stadium
With Olympic Stadium, the idea was supposed to be an umbrella but like you said, it kept coming apart. Arlington and Loan Depot are perfect examples of great designs but weather ruins it and the Metrodome was an example of the weather but they tried to fix it
The right field roof at Ranger stadium had large fans to cool off those sitting there. And that was in the shade. First pic of the stadium shows old Arlington Stadium in the back ground.
Funny that you mentioned Globe Life Field (now Choctaw Stadium). I worked there from 2010 through the 2019 season as an usher and tour guide. The complaints I got from fans (like the Rangers could control the weather) were numerous. The cases of heat related illnesses were rampant. They talked about putting a roof on it around 2015. I was asked a lot why it wasn't built with a retractable roof to begin with (especially after the announcement that Globe Life Field was being built). Mainly because they were almost unheard of. The only one in North America was in Toronto (sorry Montreal, yours was a COMPLETE and TOTAL failure). For the longest time, there were never day games; even on Sunday at GLF. A new TV contract ended that. ESPN didn't want ANY other games being played during Sunday Night Baseball. So, all of a sudden we have these REALLY hot day games - not only on Sunday but on Wed/Thurs 'getaway days'. It didn't matter that attendance was low as long as the team(s) could get to the next city at a reasonable time. It was sad that the 2020 season was going to be the first at the new stadium but Covid had other ideas. But we started up tours at the new ballpark in June - 8 per hour! Then I got to work the NLCS and watch my home town Dodgers win the WS while working as well! we also hosted some other events after that. But then life changed for us and we moved away from DFW. Not sorry though!
Before the ESPN Sunday Night game was an exclusive broadcast, I remember flipping between the Rangers game and ESPN. There were no day games from May til the middle of September in those days. The Ballpark in Arlington is most beautiful stadium I've visited.
1:45-- Olympic Stadium, "They should've gone with a regular retractable roof." Oh, Ginger... I know that you're just a kid, but in 1976, there was no such thing as a "regular retractable roof." Olympic Stadium was the first, and it was ahead of its time! Unfortunately, the roof didn't function as planned, and it wasn't designed to look "cool" like a spaceship, it was an early retractable design. The first "regular" retractable roof was in Toronto, 1989. Hey, at least they tried in Montreal. !!!
@3:32 -- first year of the park, I saw a Red Sox v. Rangers 3-game series on Memorial Day weekend -- the Sunday game was a 1:05 start -- we were in the Home Run Porch, so it wasn't so bad -- but I'm sure the people in the infield grandstand were hating it.
The Big 'O' was originally designed for the Olympic games in 1976. They were going for a type of post-modern look, which was a thing in the 70's. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a money pit. Because it was a national project, all Canadian tax papers were on the hook. It had a variety of structural issues even outside of the roof situation. In later years, it became apparent it was just too cavernous to host any sporting event, especially baseball. They wouldn't build a new baseball only stadium which is why the Expos left town. The CFL team moved to McGill University downtown. Now, it just sits to host whatever event it can.
I caught one game at Olympic Stadium. What a time warp that stadium was. Did not age well, however, the subway from downtown right to the park was amazingly convenient!
When I was in undergrad, our football team played at bowl game in Marlins Stadium. It’s nice. The roof was open too. It’s a shame they can’t draw a crowd.
@@RapidTransit1941 What I loved about the stadiums that were double decked around the whole field was that it trapped in the crowd noise. It got loud! Was able to run on the field after the 1984 World Series. The over hang of the upper deck in right field where normal fly balls would land for HR'S.
The Oakland Coliseum didn’t reach the highest potential because after Mark Davis decided to relocate the Raiders to Las Vegas for the 2020 NFL season, the Athletics announced that they would relocated to Vegas after reaching an agreement to build their new ballpark on the Tropicana site on the Las Vegas Strip.
Sunburn stadium, home of the Texas Rangers, was a dumb idea from the start. A poorly planned open-air stadium in the HOT DALLAS summer would never work, with temps in the 100s.
Imagine if the Metrodome stayed around if they were to add that paneling in earlier on in the stadium's lifespan. Granted more would have to be renovated to keep at least the Vikings in there.
Montreal Olympic stadium opened in 1976. The first retractable roof dome opened in 1989. Do you see the problem with them building a “regular retractable roof stadium” 33 years before the first was built?
your characterization of the coliseum as a baseball stadium transformed into a dual use stadium is entirely wrong. it was always meant to be dual use, in fact the Raiders played there for years before the A’s came.
I wanted to argue that the GA Dome died to young, but it hosted so many great events in its short 25 years and was replaced about 5-7 years before it would be considered outdated. It’s probably the greatest stadium lifetime.
I live in Atlanta and talked to a guy who worked for Georgia Dome. He said it needed a new roof and the cost was 200 million plus. They figured it was a better investment to just build a new stadium.
@@jamesfields2916 That makes sense. The GA Dome needed more than just a new roof, too. Its video boards were small and the concourses between the seats and concession stands were too narrow. It was always a traffic jam nightmare.
One stadium probably should be on the list the Soldier Field. With new stadium being built today and the Bears wants a new stadium this project was the worst idea of all time.
All retractable domes in the south are closed 99% of the time. It makes you wonder why they waste money on making the domes retractable. The Rangers old ballpark was great until MLB started making them play day games. Night games were no problem there. The A's stadium was always multipurpose. The sight lines were terrible for baseball and I imagine even worse for football although I never saw a Raiders game there.
I liked the Rangers stadium a lot...so much nicer, in my opinion, than the new one. I think if it were built in some other city without the heat, it would be considered one of the better MLB stadiums. 😞😞
I've been to a total of 13 different parks and it easily ranked in my top 5. Also, my only game at Rangers Stadium, it was the coldest game time temperature ever recorded at the park, and it flurried.
The Rangers couldve done what the Dolphins did when the Marlins left by putting roof around the seating area. The Rangers could've played at the AlamoDome in the mealtime
I really enjoy your videos but often you talk about the stadium(s) and only reference them by name, which often means nothing to me. For future videos could you please always mention the city and team name associated with the stadium so I can relate? Thank you!
They definitely didn't do their homework when they Constructed the Old Rangers ball park Aka Ball park in Arlington by not putting a retractable roof such a waste it was a beautiful park. I am sure they could have just installed a retractable roof instead of getting entire new park perhaps the dimensions wouldn't be possible to fit a retractable roof Shame to see such as beautiful park not even 30 years old go to waste.
Good report but next time give the name of team that plays there. Also what about the Tampa baseball stadium. You did not even discuss. So bad they are thinking about playing games away in Canada I’m told
Open roof or not, The outfield at Loan Depot is barf inducing. No way its a top ten park. Hideous. Also the tower in Montreal was a lookout/observation deck - not sure if it still is. Was never going to be a hotel. Lastly, the Raiders payed at the coliseum long before mount Davis was built. You know that right? Cuz you make it sound like they never had a team before they built the thing - it was just to make the stadium more "big league" in the 90s when stadiums were getting fancy.
I will never understand why people like hitters' parks so much. Casual fans like home runs because they do not know any better, but isn't a 3-2 game generally better than a 12-10 game?
@@ItsWickked True, but if a team gives up 17 or 18 runs, it shows that the pitching is horrible. None of the all-time great teams are giving up that many runs.
@breadandcircuses8127 True. Imagine if a ballpark had dimensions from some of the long-gone ballparks of 100 years ago. Forbes Field, for example, was relatively difficult to hit homers in, but doubles and triples came easier.
I hate that the Rangers no longer play at The Ballpark. I'm tired of hearing the complaints about the heat, speaking as someone who attended most games from 1995-2016. This new place is absolutely the worst stadium in baseball history and it's not close - it's a country club mall built by people and for people who hate baseball and don't want to watch baseball. No one who's watch this team for the past 30-50 years likes it or wanted it.
If the heat in Arlington was so bad, how did anyone think that building a new open air stadium there was a good idea? The Cowboys played "indoors" since 1971 and they play most of there games in cooler months. Seems as though Jerry Jones was the only one in Arlington that had half a brain.
I think retractable roofs hadn’t come into style yet, and they didn’t want to build an astrodome since retro stadiums were all the rage. It wasn’t until stadiums like Chase field and the new Astros stadium that more traditional baseball ballparks were built with roofs.
The Oakland Coliseum was a poor design from the get-go. The football field ran from 3rd base to 1st base, which produced way to much foul ground for baseball with the field boxes way too far back from the baseball diamond. All the rest of the 1960’s circular cookie cutter stadiums had the football field going from home plate to CF, and therefore the field boxes were much closer to the diamond.
@@adanalyst6925 AdMan, you are right. The view was really the only good thing about the Coliseum. But it was nice. Saw one game there in the late ‘80’s when I was on a biz trip.
One of the few great thing about the Coliseum design was they only needed one press box. The same press box was on the 50 for football and behind home plate for baseball. Other multipurpose stadiums either had two press boxes, choose one or the other, or split the difference between the two locations. Also since the home plate and corner end zones were cut into the lower bowl, and could be temporarily filled for the other sport, the stadium felt more bowl like and less boxy. This meant there didn’t have to be a wall of retractable seats like Candlestick or the Metrodome.
