Raiders' Christmas Eve game could be the last in the Oakland Coliseum
The Oakland Raiders' home game against the Denver Broncos on Monday will be one to watch, and not just because it is the only major sports event scheduled for Christmas Eve. Due to the fact that the team has no deal for home games in 2019, it could very well be the Raiders' final game ever played in the widely despised Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
The stadium smelled "like sewage, garlic fries, and cigarettes," recalled Broncos tackle Jared Veldheer to The Denver Post ahead of the potentially historic game. He added that at times "the sewage just got backed up and started seeping up in places."
But some Raiders fans are nevertheless mourning the dreaded stadium's curtain call, with longtime Oakland resident Abner Morgan telling The Mercury News, "That was our play yard, the big mound of dirt. I feel terrible." The San Jose-based paper called the possibility of the final game "about the worst Christmas gift an East Bay Raider fan could receive."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Coliseum was brand new in 1966, and has been home to the Raiders for most of the last 52 years. The team, which shared its stadium with the Oakland Athletics baseball team, will head to Las Vegas in 2020. Uncertainty surrounds the Raiders' future home games, though, after the city of Oakland sued the team and the NFL earlier this month, and the Raiders responded by withdrawing from an agreement to play in Oakland in 2019.
The Raiders will play the Broncos at 8:15 p.m. ET.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Political cartoons for January 24Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include 3D chess, political distractions, and more
-
Ryanair/SpaceX: could Musk really buy the airline?Talking Point Irish budget carrier has become embroiled in unlikely feud with the world’s wealthiest man
-
Claudette Colvin: teenage activist who paved the way for Rosa ParksIn The Spotlight Inspired by the example of 19th century abolitionists, 15-year-old Colvin refused to give up her seat on an Alabama bus
-
‘One Battle After Another’ wins Critics Choice honorsSpeed Read Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, won best picture at the 31st Critics Choice Awards
-
Son arrested over killing of Rob and Michele ReinerSpeed Read Nick, the 32-year-old son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner, has been booked for the murder of his parents
-
Rob Reiner, wife dead in ‘apparent homicide’speed read The Reiners, found in their Los Angeles home, ‘had injuries consistent with being stabbed’
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
