Saturday night, the Oakland Coliseum was the place for soccer fans to be. The venue hosted an international friendly match between Japan’s and Mexico’s Men’s National soccer teams.
Organizers of the match reported that the match was at capacity on Saturday, meaning there was a full crowd.
The match ended in a 0-0 draw, but the game itself seemed to represent a win for sports in Oakland.
Saturday, the Coliseum parking lot was filled with excited tailgaters firing up their grills, playing live music, dancing, and waving flags. The cheers of fans echoed across the Coliseum and into the parking lot throughout the game.
People traveled from all around the Bay Area to attend.
Attendee Aiden Ang of Cupertino explained, “My mom’s Japanese and she wanted to watch this a lot, and I’m a big fan of soccer, so I just came out to watch.”
“I just want to watch Japan play, because I’ve never watched them in person,” he added.
Gabby Valdovinos of Sonoma said she bought tickets to go with her dad to the game for his birthday.
“I’m excited because I feel like I haven’t heard of any of these games happening near me [before],” Valdovinos said.
She noted she’d been to A’s games and concerts at the Oakland Coliseum and Arena before, but this was her first time watching soccer at the venue.
“I think it’s great. I think it’s great exposure for the bay,” she said.
Fernando Silva of Oakland said it felt special to be at the Coliseum to watch an international soccer match.
“When it comes to soccer versus any other sport, you feel the energy, you feel every hit of the drum, you hear every yell, every cheer, you feel like it — it’s in here, you know?” he said, gesturing to his heart.
This match is a big deal for Oakland, which has seen the Raiders, the Warriors, and the A’s depart in recent years. The Oakland Roots USL soccer team announced the Coliseum as its new home earlier this year, bringing consistent competition back to the area. The Roots also brought in a new field to the Coliseum, which was a big part of drawing in new events like this international friendly match.
Peter Gamez, the president and CEO of Visit Oakland, noted that Oakland Roots, the Oakland Soul USL W team, and the Oakland Ballers have each played a role in building more momentum around sports in the Town.
Gamez expects this international friendly match to bring tourism and business to Oakland.
“We’re anticipating a lot of fans, not only from the Bay Area, we’ve actually had fans coming in from Mexico and staying overnight in Oakland,” he noted.
He explained that sporting events have the potential to draw new visitors from around the world to Oakland.
Gamez noted that when Oakland hosted two events during the NBA All-Star Weekend earlier this year, local hotels also saw a boost in bookings.
He said that when the Bay Area hosts the Super Bowl and World Cup games in 2026, while those events won’t be hosted in Oakland, he expects out-of-town visitors to stay and spend time in Oakland during their travels to the region.
“Bringing in for our tourism economy brings in a boost for the overall tax revenue for the city of Oakland,” Gamez emphasized.
Source: NBC Bay Area
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