This series will go over the home venues that every team will be using in season three. And boy, there is some variety. Historic stadiums where many major sports teams still play today, all the way down to the dilapidated dumps that sit long forgotten. It’s a doozy, and this is gonna go over all of them. It’s hard to think of a better place to start than the reigning champs.
Image Courtesy of SFGate
The Bay has several extremes when it comes to the quality of sports venues.
On one hand it has the sparkling jewel of Oracle Park, home of the MLB’s San Francisco Giants. In addition, the Warriors are moving in just a few blocks away in their brand new stadium, while the Sharks sit comfortably in the SAP Center of San Jose.
On the other hand, there are the football venues. Levi’s Stadium was supposed to give the 49ers a reset from the hilariously bad Candlestick park, but instead it gave fans a lot of heat and bad parking. Meanwhile, RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland has played home to the Raiders and the A’s, but the certain charm provided by its fans barely offsets the ugliness and age of this decaying giant.
Image Courtesy of Wikipedia
The Cow Palace is kind of like the wacky older brother of the Sharks’ and the Warriors’ current venues.
Sitting a short distance from the location of the now-torn down Candlestick Park, the Cow Palace has played host to both the Warriors’ and the Sharks’ at points in its long history. Recently it also hosted the San Francisco Bulls, a minor league hockey team. It’s also played host to two Republican National Conventions. These days the Cow Palace is often used for Cons and (as the name would suggest) rodeos.
The Cow Palace may not be as glamorous as some of the Bay’s newer stadiums, but no one will deny that this admittedly dated arena has a certain charm about it. It’s location off of the well used Highway 101 will also make it somewhat straightforward for fans to get to.
Image Courtesy of San Jose Theatres
Now to something a bit more, civilized.
The San Jose Civic Center is a much more conventional theatre layout. It plays host to several plays and performances, as one would expect from such a venue. It has recently been renovated and even has played host to other gaming events, notably the final days of GENESIS 3, a Super Smash Bros. Tournament.
The Civic is another historic place that will play host to the Shock for a couple of days on the Silicon Valley length of the tour. Located smack dab in the middle of San Jose, and not far from SAP Center, it is well located and, again, not too hard to get to. Be sure to watch for traffic, however.
The Shock have two historic venues that they will be using during their homestands. They may not be the most state of the art, but they do radiate a Bay Area charm of them. And that, in the end, is what counts.
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Featured Photo Courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle
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