On what will likely be Major League Baseball’s final Opening Day at the Oakland Coliseum, thousands of fans gathered in the parking lot outside the stadium to protest the team’s impending move to Las Vegas.
Organized by the Oakland 68s and Last Dive Bar fan groups, the parking lot boycott included giveaways including green Kelly “Sell” flags, collectible pins commemorating the event and t-shirts. There was food, music, corn games and lots of “Sell the Team” chants, as well as a 20-foot screen showing a live broadcast of the game. It was difficult to estimate how many people attended the boycott, although the area where the tailgate took place appeared to be as crowded as during the reverse boycott held in June 2023.
As has become a tradition since last June’s reverse boycott, A’s fans chanted “Sell the team” at the start of the fifth inning, but this time from outside the stadium rather than in the stands.
“SELL THE TEAM” chants from the parking lot #OpeningDayBoycott pic.twitter.com/eocGLNqy7s
– Gabriel Hernández (@gamer_athletics) March 29, 2024
The game – which the Cleveland Guardians won 8-0 – drew 13,522 fans, the lowest attendance for an A’s opening day in Oakland since 1979 (excluding COVID-19 pandemic years). 19 where no fans were allowed in 2020 and entry was restricted due to pandemic regulations in 2021).
Shortly before the boycott began, the Oakland United Coalition held a press conference alongside the Oakland 68 to implore the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to end the deal to sell half of the complex’s land Oakland Coliseum to Coliseum Way Partners, an LLC controlled by A’s. owner John Fisher and his family (final payment from Coliseum Way Partners to complete the sale of the land is due in May). The group is frustrated by the lack of development on the Coliseum field and the A’s recent decision to prevent the Oakland Ballers, a new independent minor league team, from playing a game at the Coliseum.
“The A’s owners have prevented East Oakland from thriving and prospering,” Vanessa Riles, Oakland campaign coordinator, East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy, said at the news conference. “They make it seem like, ‘Oh, no one wants to be at the Coliseum.’ But we know that’s not the truth. We are here because we want to be here. We want to develop this property. And the A’s stood in the way of that happening. The owners blocked this from happening. And we’re here to say no, that’s not OK.
Schools over Stadiums, a Nevada group representing teachers seeking to block $380 million in state funding for Las Vegas’ Stadium A, was also at the boycott and collecting donations. An anonymous A fan pledged up to $100,000 in donations made during the boycott. Halfway through the game, the group had already raised more than $35,000.
“We are fighting to block public money going to John Fisher to build a stadium in Las Vegas,” said Chris Daly of Schools over Stadiums. “We believe this money would be better spent on Nevada schools, which rank 48th in the nation in per-pupil funding, and other public services that are short of money in Nevada. We have Fisher, who is worth billions of dollars. If he wants to build a stadium, he has to pay for it himself. »
It was an emotional evening for many A’s fans gathered during the boycott, many of whom broke down in tears when talking about the team’s departure.
“I’m slowly going through all the emotions today, realizing this could be the last one,” said Daniel Baxter, a longtime A’s fan. “It comes and goes in waves. It hurts.”
“It’s like a long-term breakup,” added Sydney Penalver, Baxter’s girlfriend. “It’s been a very long year.”
Penalver felt particularly hurt by the way she thinks the A’s handled the decision and by their relationship with fans, which included removing comments on all of the team’s social media posts.
“I feel like they don’t really think about the fact that these are human beings who have loved this team for so long,” she said. “It’s all about profit. It’s not about the fans. It’s so sad because people are losing their jobs, kids in Las Vegas aren’t getting an education and billionaires are getting a stadium.”
Longtime season ticket holder John Cheadle II did not renew his seats this season. He was helping schools rather than stadiums collect donations, but he is realistic about the team’s chances of remaining.
“At first I thought it would be nice if they stayed for a few more years, but now with the way things have gone, they should just leave,” he said.
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(Top photo: Mélissa Lockard / Athleticism)