Home of the Oakland Raiders for more than 20 years, McAfee Coliseum has been the home of the Raiders for two different stints. In the mid 1940's Oakland officials first proposed that a new stadium be built in the area, to try to attract a baseball and football team. It was 1960 before a site was chosen to build the stadium on, near the C.W. Nimitz Freeway. Construction on the multipurpose stadium began in 1962. The stadium was constructed deep in the ground, allowing fans to enter on the upper deck level. The stadium was named Oakland Coliseum, and was completed in four years. Prior to moving into the coliseum, the Raiders played at Frank Youell Field, which had a capacity around 20,000.

The Oakland Raiders played their first game at the Oakland Coliseum on September 18, 1966. The Oakland Coliseum had 45,000 seats when it opened. Designed to be multipurpose, the Raiders were the sole tenant of the coliseum for two years. After the 1967, the Kansas City A's (MLB) moved to Oakland, and began playing at the stadium in 1968. The Oakland Coliseum was built more for baseball than football. Many of the 45,000 seats were in three tiers from the right field foul pole to the left field foul pole. Bleacher seats were beyond the outfield wall. The Oakland Coliseum was converted two ways from baseball to football when the A's moved into the stadium. The MLB season overlapped the first couple of weeks of the NFL season. During this time, the NFL gridiron was located between home plate and centerfield, making the conversion process simpler. Once baseball was over with, the gridiron was located along the first and third base areas. The Raiders played at the Coliseum until the 1981 season. In 1982 they moved to the Los Angeles Coliseum.

After more than a decade without the Raiders, the city began trying to get the team to come back to the Oakland Coliseum. As part of an agreement, the Raiders decided to move back to the Oakland Coliseum. In November 1995, a $200 million project began to add over 22,000 seats to the stadium. All of the outfield bleachers were removed and replaced with a four tier grandstand, that includes 125 luxury suites. The Raiders moved back into the coliseum for the 1996 season. In 1998, the Oakland Coliseum was renamed Network Associates Coliseum. The stadium received a new name after the 2004 NFL season, and is now known as McAfee Coliseum. Since the addition to the coliseum, it has become more of a football stadium than a baseball stadium.

Oakland Raiders, professional football team and one of five teams in the Western Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) of the National Football League (NFL). The Raiders play at Network Associates Coliseum in Alameda, California, and wear uniforms of silver and black.

The Raiders were professional football’s most consistent team from the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s, reaching the playoffs 15 times and earning four NFL or American Football League (AFL) titles in 19 seasons. As AFL champions, they played in the second Super Bowl, in 1968, and lost to the Green Bay Packers. During John Madden’s ten years as head coach (1969-1978), Oakland played in seven league or conference championship games and won one Super Bowl, in 1977. From 1980 to 1993 the team reached the postseason eight times, winning the Super Bowl in 1981 and 1984. The Raiders are the only team that appeared in at least one Super Bowl each decade during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

The Raiders joined the AFL as a charter member in 1960. The team spent its first three seasons changing stadiums and recording losing records. Al Davis, a former assistant coach for the San Diego Chargers, was hired as head coach and general manager in 1963. He reorganized the Raiders, and the team improved to a 10-4 win-loss record. Four years later, the club captured the 1967 AFL title under head coach John Rauch. Quarterback Daryle Lamonica won the first of his two passing titles as Oakland advanced to the Super Bowl to face the NFL-champion Green Bay Packers. Green Bay won 33-14, but the Raiders had established themselves as an AFL power. The Raiders reached the AFL Championship Game under Rauch in 1968 and again in 1969, this time under former Raiders assistant coach John Madden, who had taken over the head coaching duties. Madden was named AFL coach of the year in 1969 when, at age 32, he was the AFL’s youngest coach.

Oakland joined the NFL in 1970 when the NFL and AFL completed their merger. The team promptly won the 1970 Western Division crown and advanced to the AFC Championship Game, where they lost to the Baltimore Colts (now Indianapolis Colts). Under Madden the Raiders gained a reputation as one of the most intimidating teams in professional sports. Their character was exemplified by center Jim Otto and offensive linemen Art Shell and Gene Upshaw, who fiercely protected quarterbacks George Blanda and Kenny Stabler. The Raiders lost three consecutive AFC Championship Games from 1973 to 1975 before winning the game in 1976. In the subsequent Super Bowl, veteran wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff played an outstanding game as the club defeated the Minnesota Vikings, 32-14.

Madden left the Raiders after the 1978 season and was replaced by Tom Flores, who had been the team’s first quarterback. In Flores’s nine seasons as head coach he led the club to five postseason appearances and two Super Bowl championships. Quarterback Jim Plunkett, playing his first full season in Oakland in 1980, commanded a potent offense that also starred wide receiver Cliff Branch and running back Mark van Eeghen. That year the Raiders became the first wild-card playoff team to win a Super Bowl, defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 27-10.

With hopes of a better-equipped stadium and more fan support, the Raiders franchise moved to Los Angeles, California, following the 1981 season. At its new home in the Los Angeles Coliseum, the team put together a 12-4 record in 1983 and returned to the Super Bowl. Plunkett, running back Marcus Allen, and tight end Todd Christiansen powered an offense that crushed its three postseason opponents by an average of 24 points. The Raiders’ defensive stars were cornerback Lester Hayes and end Howie Long.

From 1986 to 1989 the Raiders failed to make the playoffs. Coached by former Raider player Art Shell, the club rebounded with three postseason appearances in four years from 1990 to 1993. Shell was named coach of the year in 1990. Tim Brown emerged as one of the league’s swiftest wide receivers and most skilled punt returners during the 1990s. Following the 1994 season Shell left the team and the Raiders moved back to Oakland, as fan support in Los Angeles reached an all-time low and disagreements over renovations of the Los Angeles Coliseum continued between the city and owner Al Davis. After the 13-year hiatus, the Oakland City Council welcomed the team back with a remodeled, expanded stadium and helped the franchise pay for relocation expenses. Despite the move, the club remained near the bottom of the division through the mid- and late 1990s.

IV SUPER BOWL RECORD

1968 Super Bowl II Lost to Green Bay Packers, 33-14

1977 Super Bowl XI Defeated Minnesota Vikings, 32-14

1981 Super Bowl XV Defeated Philadelphia Eagles, 27-10

1984 Super Bowl XVIII Defeated Washington Redskins, 38-9