Coliseum Sewage Problem Forces A's, Mariners Into Same Locker Room
OAKLAND (CBS/AP) -- A sewage problem at the Coliseum forced the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners to use the same locker room after Sunday's game.
The pipes backed up on the lower levels of the stadium during Oakland's 10-2 victory, creating a stink and pools of water in the clubhouses used by both teams and the umpires.
The A's and Mariners moved to a higher floor and cleaned up postgame in the locker room occupied by the Oakland Raiders during NFL games.
Coliseum officials said the six-day homestand, which drew 171,756 fans, overtaxed the plumbing system at the 47-year-old stadium.
"Make sure everybody finds out about this sewage thing," Oakland starter A.J. Griffin said. "We need to get a new stadium."
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that leaking pipes and backed up drains occur often, even on days when the Coliseum is empty. The field is 22 feet below sea level, and the clubhouse level is 3 feet below sea level.
A's team president Michael Crowley told the Chronicle, "It's clear, right? This isn't the first time this has happened."
Several Mariners left without showering. Towels were used to block sewage from running into the players' general dressing area.
Seattle manager Eric Wedge's office had about a foot of liquid, forcing him to hold his postgame news conference in the hallway.
The A's, who start a road trip in Texas on Monday night, will likely have new carpeting when they return. The extent of the damage isn't known yet.
There were visible wet spots around every drain on the ground floor, though the main damage was to the locker rooms and storage areas.
Coliseum Sewage Problem Forces A's, Mariners Into Same Locker Room
KCBS, SF Chronicle and KPIX insider Phil Matier said there were more than 37,000 fans at the stadium for Sunday's Father's Day game.
"The A's are enjoying a big sell out resurgence, tickets are up, the team is hot, and owner Lew Wolff would like a new stadium, the problem is he would like it in San Jose and the Giants aren't happy about that. So for the past three years they've sort of been at a standstill on where to build a new stadium," Matier said.
Matier noted the amount of "sports building" going on in the Bay Area right now and noted the 49ers are putting up a billion dollar stadium in Santa Clara right next door to where the A's want to go. The Warriors are planning on building a one-billion dollar arena on San Francisco's waterfront.
"That's going to be tapping into a lot of the loose money that people have for sports events and corporate sponsorships and skyboxes and all those things that help finance stadiums," he said.
"The big question is if you can afford to build a whole new house instead of calling a plumber I think in the short term, they're going to have to be calling a plumber."
(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
