Back on home turf with A’s finished
Once the A’s played their final home game last week, the conversion began. The only stadium still used for both Major League Baseball and the NFL, the Coliseum has turned into a football-only facility, and it’ll remain so the rest of 2017.
“I’m so happy about that. I’m not happy the A’s didn’t make the playoffs, I’m happy to be able to play on grass,” Raiders cornerback David Amerson said. “Especially for a defensive back.”
The Raiders will begin an unusual stretch of three straight home games beginning Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. The following two weeks, the Raiders will host the Chargers and Chiefs
in intra-division games.
To borrow from the baseball handbook, it’s a three-game homestand.
Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio refused to look beyond Sunday or address the extended time at home, but he did seem fine preparing for an Oakland-based game after opening the season with three road games in four weeks.
“It’s good to be home this week,” Del Rio said. “I’m fired up about it.”
Especially because the dirt infield is gone. No mound. No basepaths. No warning track. It’ll be an all-grass field, and Del Rio perked up in a brief news conference Friday when asked if it’s a benefit not to play on dirt.
“I don’t know if I’d call it a benefit. That’s the way it should be. It should be grass all the time,” Del Rio said. “Hopefully they’ll get that rectified going forward because frankly it’s a little embarrassing to play on the cinder block. We tolerate it when we have to, but we’re definitely looking forward to having a full field of grass.”
The Raiders played two exhibitions and one regularseason game (a 45-20 win over the Jets) on infield dirt, and the issue won’t change in the next few years. The Raiders might not move to Las Vegas until 2021, and the A’s are talking about relocating elsewhere in Oakland in 2023, at the earliest.
So the Raiders will continue dealing with it. As will the A’s, who had to play on less-thandesirable turf, especially in the outfield, after it was chopped up by the Raiders and temporary seating.
“It’s rough on everybody,” Raiders center Rodney Hudson said. “I guess you could say it’s a level playing field for everybody. Obviously, playing on dirt is different, but I try to do the same thing and focus and execute.”
Sometimes it’s easier said than done.
“Your football cleats are made for grass. They catch a little bit but not as much as you need them to,” said Amerson, adding it can be easier to take chances on grass. “Sometimes I’ll see something and am about to jump at it, and I slip. You’ve got to be aware. Keep your feet even. Don’t try to step outside yourself. Stuff like that.”