A's fans protest outside Oakland Coliseum against move to Las Vegas
They may not have as many fans at the Oakland Coliseum as they would have liked. But Athletics fans who gathered for a rally "outside" Thursday night made their views clear...
The team's decades-long loyal hometown fan base did not support the Athletics' plan to move to Las Vegas.
Although 13,522 fans purchased tickets for the club's final opening day in Auckland, a large number declined to use them. Instead, they stayed in the stadium's south parking lot, eating free tacos, listening to live music, wearing T-shirts and waving flags that read "For Sale" -- imploring club owner John Fisher to turn the team over. Another boss.
No news outlet was willing to estimate the size of the crowd outside, but amateur estimates ranged from a few hundred to 6,000.
A tent at the rally was occupied by Schools Over Stadiums, a union political action committee representing Nevada teachers that is seeking $380 million in public funds to soon build a baseball diamond on the stadium's grounds . The Tropical Garden Hotel in Las Vegas will be demolished.
Major League Baseball owners voted unanimously in November to move the sports teams to Las Vegas. Bally's, the Rhode Island-based company that operates the Tropicana casino-hotel, has repeatedly said it intends to build a new $1.5 billion ballpark for the team on 9 acres of its 35-acre property.
Mortenson-McCarthy, the construction firm hired by the Athletics, told the Las Vegas Stadium Authority last year that construction of the stadium would begin in April 2025 and be completed in time for the start of the 2028 season.
If their new stadium is built, the Athletics still have to decide where they want to play during the three-year transition period. Salt Lake City and Sacramento are two options that have been considered if a deal cannot be reached with the city of Oakland to extend the stadium's lease beyond this season.
Reaction to Rally
Reactions to Thursday's rally were posted on the Oakland Athletics' subreddit, sparking deep emotions among the team's decades-old fanbase.
“Looks like you assholes did it,” Reddit user padres4me wrote. “I fucking love it. Anyone who actually knows baseball or cares about it knows the POS is to blame, not the fans. Keep baseball here Auckland and force the sale!”
"What happened in the parking lot is real," Ok-Ad-445 wrote. "Sending support to everyone. Very positive for A's fans and Oaktown. No matter what happens next, it gives you a better sense of family for this team."
"This is so beautiful," Dadalorian76 added. "It was so sad, it made me cry."
Another protest took place on June 13, but looked very different. Demonstrating fans' ability to continue supporting the team, their "reverse boycott" increased average stadium attendance from 4,000 per night to nearly half full to 27,000.
Fans attending Thursday's rally at least had reason to feel better about not attending the game. The Athletics lost to the Cleveland Guardians 8-0.
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Source: www.casino.org
