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McAFEE COLISEUM
Oakland, Calif.
Opened: 1968
Capacity: 43,662
Average Ticket Price: $17.66
Average Cost of Concessions & Souvenirs: $82
Pluses:
Regional train line (BART) offers service directly to stadium; good amount of stadium parking spaces available (8,500) at just $7 a game for season-ticket holders; stadium located directly off freeway.

Minuses:
If you don't have season tickets, parking at the stadium will relieve you of $14.
Caught in the shadow of the Giants' more glamorous home across SF Bay, the Athletics and their fans have developed a relaxed demeanor in the dugout and in the stands.
Photo by Robert Beck/SI
Compact number of restrooms (20 men's, 18 women's), but reasonable in a stadium of this age; paltry 118 wheelchair-accessible seats; average number of concession (45).
This is the concrete bowl's concrete bowl. Unlike the park across the bay, there's nothing special to see here, save the action on the field. The crowd is generally good-natured, even to fans sporting colors of the opposition. A few institutions -- the crazy dude with the banjo, the kids on the top deck with the clever costumes and the drum corps in left field - keep the vibe loose and friendly. Like most parks, the beer is overpriced and the food unremarkable. Better you make your way to the Black Muslim Bakery for veggie burgers and dogs, a bean pie and a ginger lemonade. -- James Black  
The easy atmosphere in the park is not reflected outside, which isn't so much a bad neighborhood as a vast, empty, industrial wasteland with excellent freeway and rapid transit (BART) access. Driving to the park is simple, although you'd be nuts not to take BART -- there's a foot bridge from the train station to the front of the stadium. Early in the season, you might be able to catch a Warriors game at the Arena next door, but we're not sure if easy access to the Warriors fits the description of "added value." -- James Black  
2005 Record: 74-56 (all statistics through Aug. 29)
Players worth price of admission: Eric Chavez (.278 BA, 22 HR, 78 RBI), Rich Harden(10-5, 2.63 ERA), Barry Zito (12-10, 3.49 ERA).  
A perfect example of why life isn't fair. Despite regularly producing playoff teams since the 1970s, the A's play in one of the majors' least interesting ballparks, while across the Bay the Giants' inconsistent play (at best) is rewarded with a veritable Taj Mahal. Guess there's something to playing lean and hungry.  

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