St. Louis Cardinals: 4 Ballparks That Changed for Better, Worse

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Oakland’s Mount Davis

Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

You can’t see it in the photo above, but just to the left of the Oakland Raider watching helplessly as another opponent catches another touchdown pass is a vast wall of luxury boxes and seats installed in centerfield of old Oakland-Alameda Coliseum (now O.co Coliseum) in 1996. Oakland and the county made the addition to compel the late Raiders owner Al Davis to move the team back from Los Angeles. A’s fans derisively called it Mount Davis.

Mount Davis completely blocks a great view of the Santa Cruz Mountains and turns what was once a cozy little ballpark into a claustrophobic bowl. It looks like a football stadium temporarily changed to squeeze in a baseball field. Meanwhile, Oakland is probably regretting giving into Davis all those years ago. The Raiders have had only three winning seasons since and no Super Bowl wins. Lately, they’ve been the laughing stock of the NFL.

Anyone who thinks this is all moot because the A’s will be moving into a new stadium is deluded. And that includes Billy Beane, who suggested his moves to acquire a bunch of low-level prospects at the deadline this July was tied to his optimism for a new stadium being built right there on the O.co Coliseum site. With the San Francisco Giants throwing cold water on many A’s new stadium rumors, this thing will drag on forever.

Next: Tal's Hill