Oracle Arena

The Oracle Arena, also known by its former names of the Oakland Coliseum Arena, the Oakland Arena, the Arena In Oakland, and The Arena is an indoor arena in Oakland, California. It was originally constructed as the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena in 1966.

Seating Capacity: 19,596
Opened: 1966
Owner: City of Oakland
Operator: SMG Facility Management
Construction cost: $121 million USD (renovation in 1997)
Architect: HNTB

The arena has been home to the Golden State Warriors since 1966, excepting the one-year hiatus. The Cal Golden Bears have played a few games at the arena over the years, as well. The Coliseum also hosted the Bay Bombers (Roller Derby, 1966-1973) as well as the California Golden Seals (also known as the Oakland Seals and California Seals previously) of the NHL from 1967-1976. The Oakland Skates, a professional roller hockey team, also played here from 1993 to 1995.

Renovation

Over the years though, the arena became increasingly outdated, lacking the luxuries of newer ones. Rather than building a new arena in Oakland – or, for that matter, in San Francisco or San Jose, as some wanted – the decision was made to proceed with a $121 million renovation that tore down much of the old arena, leaving the external walls, roof and foundation, along with a few other features, intact, and then building a new seating bowl within the older confines, similar to what was done to the KeyArena in Seattle. The renovation began in mid-1996 and was completed in time for the Golden State Warriors to return in the fall of 1997 (they played the intervening season at the San Jose Arena). The new arena seats 19,596 for basketball and 17,000 for ice hockey.

The Oracle

On October 20, 2006, the Golden State Warriors and the Oracle Corporation announced a 10-year agreement in which the Oakland Arena would be known as The Oracle. The Oracle will continue to be managed by Oakland-Alameda County Authority (JPA) and SMG.

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Oracle Arena website
Oracle Arena wikipedia entry
Golden State Warriors website
WarriorsWorld Fansite

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