The A’s have made a number of changes to the Coliseum recently. Some are bigger than others, but collectively they amount to a statement: This is our home. Rather than treat it with all the care of a hobo squatting in a boarded up ramshackle Victorian in soon-to-be gentrified West Oakland (which was more or less the case over the past 20 years or so), the A’s are treating it like the palace of magic and memories that it is.
To an A’s fan, that means a lot. First came the new scoreboards two years ago. This year, a slew of changes: Christening it Rickey Henderson Field, opening the “Championship Plaza” with games, food trucks and an inviting atmosphere, debuting the Shibe Park Tavern with nods to the franchise’s history as well as quality food and beer options, getting rid of the ugly and faded tarps, adding a sweet “Holy Toledo” sign in the outfield, and announcing an upcoming upgrade to the kids zone.