Oakland Coliseum reaches new low with dead mice in soda machine
Conditions in the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum somehow reached a new low during Sunday’s game between the Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers:
A janitor on his walkie talkie in the press box just said, loud enough for all of us to hear, "There are two dead mice in the soda machine." #Coliseum
— Ann Killion (@annkillion) December 10, 2018
The Coliseum has been known for its mediocre-at-best conditions on and off the field. In 2013, a drainage problem caused raw sewage to flow into the home, visitor and umpire clubhouses. Even before that, unsanitary conditions led to concern about E. coli in the visitor’s training room.
Still, dead animals around food is concerning, which makes you wonder how long the mice had been living there. Hopefully, not as far back as the Moneyball Oakland Athletics, when David Justice may-or-may-not have had to pay for soda.
Even the on-field conditions have been poor with Steelers and Raiders players complaining about the field surface. Notably, Steelers kicker Chris Boswell had a chance to tie Sunday’s game as time expired but slipped as he went to attempt a 40-yard field goal.
How much longer will the Coliseum be in use?
The good news with this mice situation is that the Coliseum will likely not house pro teams for much longer.
The Raiders are planning to move to Las Vegas in 2020, although they may play at a different site in 2019 instead of the Coliseum. Meanwhile, the A’s recently released plans for a beautiful new waterfront stadium that could be ready as soon as 2023.
However, part of the plan for the new stadium includes leaving the Coliseum in tact to develop as a community space. So perhaps there will be more strange stories for years to come.
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