2008 Woodie Awards
A's fans crammed in Coliseum for postseason
Sean Kent
Issue date: 10/10/06 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
As the excitement of playoff baseball descends upon the Bay Area for the first time since 2003, loyal Oakland Athletics fans may find themselves shut out of their beloved Coliseum.
For decades, a majority of the Oakland Coliseum's upper deck and the nearly ten-year-old "Mount Davis" addition in centerfield have remained vacant, and the most sparsely vacated during Athletics' regular season home games, with the exceptions of the Yankees, Red Sox, and Giants series.
Consistently low attendance figures prompted the Athletics' ownership to close the entire upper deck for the whole regular season, covering most of the seats with a large green tarp.
Some people have suggested the closure was for aesthetic reasons; however, the most prevalent theory is that ownership wanted to gently force their fans to purchase higher priced tickets.
Whatever the reason, some fans can't understand why the club opted to leave the top tier closed during both playoff rounds and the World Series (if the team gets that far).
With the closure of the upper deck, the Coliseum's current capacity is 34,077. In the Athletics' last playoff series against the Red Sox in 2003, the team drew crowds of 50,000, 36,000, and 49,000.
If the Athletics had closed the upper deck during their 2003 series, they would have had 32,769 unhappy fans left in the cold.
While the decision does make sense for the team financially, fans are receiving the message that they are unwanted.
Athletics ownership has cited lower attendance as a reason to possibly relocate, yet as their fans hope to cheer the team on to a world championship, some will be shut out.
Few can remember this ever occurring in the Coliseum's expansive days, when upper deck Division Series tickets could be bought for as low as twenty bucks.
Possibly adding to the decision to keep the limited capacity is the Athletics' first round opponent: the Minnesota Twins. A talented, exciting team, the Twins are not the Red Sox or Yankees, the two marquee teams of the American League, who draw large Oakland crowds even during the regular season.
However, the Athletics' early success in the postseason will definitely attract even the team's casual fans, which could in turn provide Oakland's front office with a headache of epic proportions when it comes to ticket sales for the reduced baseball configuration in the colossal Oakland Coliseum.
For decades, a majority of the Oakland Coliseum's upper deck and the nearly ten-year-old "Mount Davis" addition in centerfield have remained vacant, and the most sparsely vacated during Athletics' regular season home games, with the exceptions of the Yankees, Red Sox, and Giants series.
Consistently low attendance figures prompted the Athletics' ownership to close the entire upper deck for the whole regular season, covering most of the seats with a large green tarp.
Some people have suggested the closure was for aesthetic reasons; however, the most prevalent theory is that ownership wanted to gently force their fans to purchase higher priced tickets.
Whatever the reason, some fans can't understand why the club opted to leave the top tier closed during both playoff rounds and the World Series (if the team gets that far).
With the closure of the upper deck, the Coliseum's current capacity is 34,077. In the Athletics' last playoff series against the Red Sox in 2003, the team drew crowds of 50,000, 36,000, and 49,000.
If the Athletics had closed the upper deck during their 2003 series, they would have had 32,769 unhappy fans left in the cold.
While the decision does make sense for the team financially, fans are receiving the message that they are unwanted.
Athletics ownership has cited lower attendance as a reason to possibly relocate, yet as their fans hope to cheer the team on to a world championship, some will be shut out.
Few can remember this ever occurring in the Coliseum's expansive days, when upper deck Division Series tickets could be bought for as low as twenty bucks.
Possibly adding to the decision to keep the limited capacity is the Athletics' first round opponent: the Minnesota Twins. A talented, exciting team, the Twins are not the Red Sox or Yankees, the two marquee teams of the American League, who draw large Oakland crowds even during the regular season.
However, the Athletics' early success in the postseason will definitely attract even the team's casual fans, which could in turn provide Oakland's front office with a headache of epic proportions when it comes to ticket sales for the reduced baseball configuration in the colossal Oakland Coliseum.