Where Should Cal Football Play In 2011: AT&T, Oakland Coliseum, or Candlestick?

Tickets would be nearly impossible to snag at the small venue that the phone booth would be…

Candlestick is just wayy too bloody far from anywhere, and unless they get about 20000 students onto buses and ship them down? (sounds pricy…) I dont think it’s gonna work well… Maybe free shuttles from the nearest bart station down there? The student section would work best here, with the east side of the stadium having a good slope for it all… but… good luck getting students there.

Eh… whatever… its too flippin far, and i’m not a fan of this one.

Oakland would work the best. Its still close, its on this side of the bay, it has a sweet tailgate scene, it’s even easier accessed by bart than Memorial…

One issue with Oakland however, is where the hell are the students going to be? I’m sure the mt davis side would be reserved for alumni… seeing as it has the best views of the game… so this would displace students to where? the home plate side? Not as imposing as the current location, I must say… it has shallow sightlines and such. Maybe the black hole area? hmmm… Oh well… it’s never going to be as imposing anyway, seeing as any of these 3 would be all-seater venues. I guess just pack in as many as possible eh? Least the food at the coliseum is AWESOME, and not to mention CHEAP…

The capacity is certainly an issue, but I wouldn’t count the Giants out. Say what you want about their baseball operations, but their business operations are pretty smart and will involve no negotiations with Al Davis or OACCA.

City approval might be even easier than Candlestick too. I think there are zoning limitations on the number of events that can be held at AT&T other than baseball games. Cal might be able to play the City off against the Giants to swing a better deal at Candlestick, or vice versa.

In that order.

AT&T has great facilities, is modern, and is situated in an easily-accessible location.

Plus, it’s San Francisco! I’m too old to be staying in Berkeley after games anymore.

Backload the home Pac-10 schedule by moving the Oregon State game from Sep. 24 to Nov. 19 (both Cal and OSU have an open date on Nov. 19, 2011). That moves a potential landmine September date to November.

Cal’s 2011 OOC schedule is still largely open. So far, only one game (at Colorado) has been scheduled for Sep. 10. Cal needs at least one home game from an OOC opponent to reach the NCAA mandated minimum 5 home games per season. Who that would be, I don’t know. Regardless, if the Giants 2011 schedule will accomodate it, schedule the OOC game for AT&T Park. OOC games are generally the games with lowest attendance anyhow, set it for AT&T Park.

The bulk of the home schedule could be all of the Pac-10 home games and those start no earlier than Oct. 15 (vs. Wazzu) provided the Oregon State game is moved to November 19.

If it’s too much hassle to schedule AT&T Park for one or two games in September, then schedule Candlestick because it is now a de facto football only stadium with no baseball scheduling conflicts. Move back tot he Coliseum once the baseball regular season is done; the A’s will not be playing in the 2011 playoffs, anyhow.

Is that a cannon or a penis or what?

First off, I don’t think the A’s will be in the playoffs. Secondly, don’t the Raiders usually play on Sunday/Monday anyway? Not on Saturdays usually, anyway.

I like the ‘Stick more than the other two (not just because I’m a 9ers fan) but for the love of god FUCK AT&T PARK.

It was cramped and tiny in the Emerald Bowl and at least two Jahvid TDs were cut short due to the fucking sand on a football field. And the nightmare of managing sidelines (both teams on the same end) sucks.

It won’t be at Phone Booth ($$$), unless the Gints give them hella cheap rent to offset lost ticket sales.

It might be at the ‘stick…but it would be a major turnoff for most of the paying customers. Don’t think for a minute the University will care what happens to the students. Sure, they might have a shuttle system and advertise this option, but they won’t care if their seats aren’t as good. I really think it will likely be the Coli w/ some (not so hard to do) scheduling:

The A’s could be good in 2011, but likely won’t get past the ALDS hump…therefore at most extending their season 3 home games at most which could all fall during the week anyway. There’s a good chance the A’s could be done with baseball by the end of September or 1st week of October.

College football could start two weeks before the NFL…allowing the Bears to squeeze in 2 home games before the NFL season starts. Sure, there are those nitpicky preseason NFL games but lets assume this is not a major hurdle.
Alternating Raiders/Cal home games and mixing in an occasional Mon (NFL) or college (Th) could ensure that only 1 football game is played per week. Surely the A’s will have 2 (or more) weekend homestands, but a M or Th football game could get around that. Say October 10th and on, the A’s/Raiders could alternate for the remaing 4-5 home games left in Cal’s football season.

It’s doable, perhaps messy, but doable. The cash-strapped A’s, assuming they get a few gazillions, would likely be more welcoming than most other franchises.

Anyone arguing SF over Oakland should disclose what side of the bay they currently live on…we’ll assume the pro-Coli fans live in the E. Bay.

Is it possible to make all Cal home games the same weekend as Raider games? This way the A’s would be on the road and it shouldn’t be all that much work (at least not that much more than normal) to prepare for a Raiders game after a Cal game since they are both football and wouldn’t require any seating transformations, only normal clean up.

If you can work through the logistical issues with the two other tenants the Coliseum is definitely the superior choice given the ample parking and easy access via public transit.

Ahaha, thanks for the shout-out, Avi.

Currently I’m split 50/50 on the Colosseum and Candlestick.
The Stick being what was quoted, as well as what you pointed out with the stadium owners having to split the stadium three-ways. However, the Colosseum is right there in Oakland and it would actually be a shorter commute for us on the West-side of the Bay when already compared to traveling to Memorial.

And AT&T is just not built for football. It’s good once in a while for a bowl game, but that’s about it. I don’t wanna have an entire season there.

In short, I dunno. I just hope that the Bears have a place to play in 2011 at this point.

Greatest # of coeds should be found at Phone Booth, tho I haven’t been to a packed event at the coli in years :(

I’d definitely prefer the Coliseum. Some have made the argument that undergrads love adventures, and while this is somewhat true, the best adventures are long road trips into enemy territory, not traffic filled trips to our own fucking “home” stadium. The Coliseum would just be more convenient than any other venue, plus it’d mean that for one year, my favorite baseball team and football team will be playing in the same stadium :D.

where should the national champion rugby team play their games next year?

A few things….first, I was told some time ago from a person in a position to really know (definitively, as in one of the decison makers at the venue) that it will not be the Coliseum…I emphasize"some time ago" though as things could have changed, but he sure was definitive then…the thought of ATT bums me out for all the “con” reasons noted above…it’s just not a football stadium and it starts out eliminateing even season ticket holders…really not good…leaving ,THE STICK…first, I used to go to a lot of 49er games,and when the place is rocking, it can be great, it’s crappy side notwithstanding…the con comments above seem to be focused around distance from Cal and Transportation…well, we manage to get more Cal fans to Stanfurd they they do, and the challenges there are greater…further, Muni used to have bus service from BART, which actually makes it easy and (read doing it drunk), Fun….the tailgating will be as good at the other locations, and it is set up for Football…so, while the Coliseum would be best, get raedy for the Stick…and really, it will be OK

On a personal note, I would get to go to every home game. Also, it would be fun to outsell those lobsterbacks on their own turf.

I’d be okay with all three, except that tickets for Pac Bell would be damn hard to get.

Public transportation to the Stick is epically worse than the other two options. So, I think for that reason alone, the Stick should be out.

Of all the Bay Area pro teams, the Giants are the most Cal-friendly. Larry Baer, the Giants president, is a Cal grad. Since the Giants also control the ballpark, that makes negotiations more straightforward. The other 2 options have commissions with tenants that are probably trying to influence how Cal could use those facilities.

I would actually prefer the Stick because right now it is football-only and I hate seeing the baseball dirt on a football field. Football is not meant to be played on dirt.

I don’t think the lesser public transportation is that big a deal. It would be way more fun for students to charter buses than to take BART. I’m sure rally com could organize some buses. Plus, Muni runs plenty of shuttles from all over the city on game days so there is an option to park elsewhere.

Lastly, it would be nice to play games on the west side of the bay. We are the dominant Bay Area team, and it would make a nice contrast for one year to play on the other side.

Why don’t we just play in Palo Alto? After all, it is Bear Territory :)

That red team down there can figure out someplace else to play.

Just saying.

With some modifications to the turf course, you could fit a football field in there. The 2008 game vs. Oregon demonstrated that you can always find ways to play around a high water table. And who can turn down the prospect of a Shane Vereen – Trajuan Briggs Exacta?