New era at Oakland Coliseum excites fans as Roots take the field for first time
It's a new era for the Oakland Coliseum as the Oakland Roots soccer team played their first game of the season at the facility.
The team sold out the initial capacity of 15,000 and expanded their sale to about 26,000 seats.
East Bay native Steve Brown says he's grateful to be sitting in the Coliseum again, as well as tailgating before games.
"This is my home," Brown said, looking around the parking lot. "The smell. The seasons of tailgates, of all the sports. I just love Oakland."
Brown feels like he grew up here. He says he's attended hundreds of Warriors, Raiders, and A's games going back to the 1970s.
"We were at the last A's game," Brown said. "It was a very sorrowful day. We stayed until the sun was going down."
He says that night, he didn't know if he'd ever tailgate in this lot again. Then, the Roots announced they'd play the Coliseum for the 2025 season.
Brown was ecstatic.
"When I heard I was like, 'Oh my gosh, I can go back to the coliseum and tailgate again with my kids,'" Brown said.
Andrew Stasium was also tailgating with his son.
They've followed the Roots for years but never expected them to play at such a historic facility.
"Amazing," said his 12-year-old son, Nick.
"Surprised," added Stasium. "I couldn't believe it. It's going to be a good season for them. I can feel it."
Nick trains with some of the players and says he has dreams of one day being an Oakland Root.
The team also used this first game as an opportunity to spotlight a player who built a legacy at the Coliseum, former A's left-fielder and Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson. They retired his jersey number, 24.
Henderson died of pneumonia at the age of 65 in December.
"They're doing a tribute today for Rickey during the 24th minute so I had to wear his jersey," Brown said. "When I read that, I was like 'Oh, I know what I'm wearing.'"
He also wore his Raiders hat to represent that part of the Coliseum's history, and of course, he threw in a little bit of the Roots.
"And I've got the scarf," Brown said as he put the Roots' scarf around his neck.
Brown hopes this is just the beginning of a new chapter for the Oakland Coliseum.
"I hope that we can still tailgate here in the Coliseum for many years to come, pass it on to new generations," Brown said.
The Roots will play at least a total of 17 games at the Coliseum this season, possibly more if they make it to the playoffs.
They lost 2-1 to San Antonio FC in the home opener.
