Oakland Roots unveil soccer field at Coliseum

OAKLAND, Calif. -
At the Oakland Coliseum, fans who were used to seeing the A's pitch will see a different kind of pitch this coming spring.

Grounds crews were busy on Thursday prepping newly laid grass that is taking root over the former baseball diamond to make way for a new sports team.

"We're blessed to be working with the same crew that has maintained this field over the past several decades," said Edreece Arghandiwal, the Oakland Roots Soccer Club's Chief Marketing Officer. "They'll make sure this is the best playing surface the players can have."

In December, Arghandiwal and the staff of the Oakland Roots Soccer Club were thrilled to see their field of dreams taking shape.

One big difference fans will see is the soccer field will run up along the former third baseline and had to be in a different configuration from the old Raiders football field because of the difference in size.

"A football field is about 68 by 120," explained Tommy Hodul, the Oakland Roots Vice-President of Communications. "Right now we have it set up for 74 by 114 yards.

Unlike some other sports, soccer fields can range in size and be changed within certain parameters.

"In soccer, there's just minimum dimensions and maximum dimensions, and you have to fall within the dimensions. So historically, people talk about a team in the Premiere league, Crystal Palace, who used to change their dimensions from game to game to kind of mess with opponents," Hodul said.

The Oakland Roots' seating might be a surprise for fans who are used to a more traditional soccer stadium, which has seating that completely circles the field and usually goes straight up to the sidelines.

This month, fans with deposits for season tickets got a chance to pick their seats for the Roots opening home season at the Coliseum.

"We're expecting 15,000 seats on average," Arghandiwal said. "That was formerly known as the Landing but is now Deep Roots. That's where our most passionate fans will be based. You can expect flags, drums, and loud noises."

The Roots are also putting in VIP boxes on the field by the team benches, adding field-level seating, utilizing the lower stands, and some of the upper premium suite options.

Arghandiwal said they want to make it affordable for families and offer higher-end experiences.

He said season ticket prices for the 17-game season are expected to range from about $275 to $600, with pricing still to be determined for the suites and VIP boxes.

"We'll have high school dance teams lining the walkout. We'll have bands up on the concourse when you come in bringing vibrant music, think jazz and funk," said Nelda Kerr, the Director of Community Engagement for the Roots. "We'd like to do a blessing of the space that really grounds us in our native roots."

The Roots are hoping to live up to their name, by tapping into what makes the land and the Oakland community so unique.

"I'm ready to see it rooted in the people. To see our community shine here in a way that it deserves to be seen," Kerr said.

What some might not know, is that the Oakland Coliseum is coming full circle, returning to its early history as a soccer venue.

Back on April 16, 1967, the Oakland Clippers hosted one of the first pro soccer games in the United States, when the National Professional Soccer League kicked off its inaugural season in five cities nationwide.

"That's a year before the Oakland A's moved here, so there was soccer happening here prior," Hodul said.

Soccer legend Pelé also played at the Oakland Coliseum in 1968 and several times afterward when he joined the New York Cosmos in the 1970s.

Hodul also remembers when sellout crowds filled the Oakland Coliseum for international teams that came to town.

"The Mexican national team has called this building home for home games multiple times in their history as well. In the late 90s and early 2000s, they played Paraguay here. They played Iran here," Hodul said. "I remember in middle school, coming to the Mexican national team games and it being completely sold out for soccer."

"I think for our community, it's a chance to have hope and inspiration and do something positive looking into the future," Arghandiwal said.

The full soccer schedule is expected to be released by the end of December.

The Roots say they'll be ready to open up this field for play at the end of March 2025.