This week’s press conference at the Oakland Coliseum marked a new chapter for one of the most iconic venues in Bay Area sports history. Cricket, the world’s second most watched sport, is coming to the Coliseum, through a landmark partnership with Major League Cricket, or MLC.
Johnny Grave is the CEO of MLC. He spoke about what it took to bring Big League Cricket here. “It was three years ago, in June, that I was here with members of the International Cricket Council trying to bring the World Cup here. So, it's fantastic for me and for the sport of Cricket to finally be here. To formally announce that Cricket will come to the Oakland Coliseum. In June on the 12th for a week of what will be the most exciting Cricket you can watch in this country.”
But what does this moment mean more for long time Oakland fans?
The A’s have left. The Warriors left Oracle for San Francisco. The Raiders are long gone and now play in Las Vegas.
According to City Council member Rebecca Kaplan, Cricket is a new beginning for Oakland and the coliseum. “Welcome to the Oakland Resurrection. People said that this facility was going to be dead. Here we are, just three months after the last lease ended and it is alive and thriving. We had over 26,000 people here at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday for Root soccer. Let's give Root soccer some love.”
Whether you're a fan or not, this seems beneficial for Oakland’s economy.
Interim Mayor Kevin Jenkins had this to say. “This site was left by a number of sports teams, but what this means is a revitalization of our economy, especially with this site that's right here in East Oakland. What it means is when this site does well, Oakland does well. We recently reopened fire stations with extra revenue from the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum.”
So, maybe cricket is more than just a new sport here. Maybe it’s a lifeline. A way to reimagine what the Coliseum can be, to build new memories on old turf.
