Likely last football to baseball change-over at Oakland Coliseum

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- It's likely the end an era for the surging Oakland Athletics, who return home after a highly successful road trip.

On Sunday, crews began the battle against time and the weather to transform the field back to the baseball configuration, following the Raiders' loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The A's play the Kansas City Royals at the Coliseum Monday night.

The process usually takes hours, often forcing the A's and visiting teams to cancel batting practice.

Because the Raiders don't play at the Coliseum again until November, and their pending move to Las Vegas, this is likely to be the last time the A's will play on a torn up outfield surface.

The Raiders and the A's shared the Coliseum from 1968 to 1981, and then again from 1995 when the Silver and Black moved back from Los Angeles, to the present.

Years ago, it was not uncommon for NFL and MLB teams to share a stadium, but not anymore. The A's and the Raiders are the last to do so.

To say the arrangement was barely tolerated by the players in both sports would be an understatement.

Football players disliked playing on the dirt infield, which was in place from the preseason until the A's season concluded, usually in late September or October.

Baseball outfielders complained about the outfield grass, which was damaged by the football seats, while fans loathed the aesthetics; dis-colored grass, and the faint remnants of the lines from the football field.