sport news Oakland Athletics fans stage parking lot protest on MLB Opening Day… as they ... trends now
Thousands of Oakland Athletics supporters gathered outside the team's famous Coliseum to protest their impending move to Las Vegas on MLB's Opening Day.
Before, during and after their brutal 8-0 loss to the Cleveland Guardians, supporter groups the Oakland 68s and the Last Dive Bar held a boycott in the stadium's parking lot for fans to make their displeasure known ahead of the A's relocation.
The boycott included giveaways, t-shirts, a number of green 'Sell' flags and collectible pins commemorating the event, along with food, music, games and frequent chants of 'Sell the team'.
There was also a 20-foot screen showing a live feed of the game, which ended in a resounding on-the-road victory for Cleveland.
In light of owner John Fisher's $1.5billion decision to relocate to Vegas, which was unanimously approved by MLB owners at the end of last year, A's fans began staging reverse boycotts at the Coliseum towards the end of the 2023 season.
Oakland Athletics supporters gathered outside the team's Coliseum to protest their impending move to Las Vegas on MLB's Opening Day
Fan groups the Oakland 68s and the Last Dive Bar held a boycott in the stadium's parking lot for the A's faithful to make their displeasure known
The boycott took place as Oakland slumped to a brutal 8-0 loss vs the Cleveland Guardians
A's owner John Fisher plans to reinvent the organization in 2028 with a $1.5bn move to Vegas
'Sell the team' chants at the top of the fifth inning has become a tradition amongst protestors, yet on Thursday they came from outside the stadium instead.
The game itself drew a crowd of just 13,522, which represents the lowest attendance for an Oakland Athletics game since 1979 - excluding Covid-affected years in 2020 and 2021.
The exact number of fans who gathered outside to protest is unclear, though the area where the tailgate took place appeared as crowded as it was for last summer's reverse boycott, according to The Athletic.
The Oakland faithful are distraught with the looming prospect of their beloved baseball team, which has belonged to California's West Coast port for the last 55 years, moving 560 miles away to Vegas.
It is there where Fisher plans to reinvent the organization in 2028 with a new 30,000-seater ballpark at the current site of the Tropicana Las Vegas Casino on the Strip, having allegedly been denied in his attempts to build a new stadium in Oakland.
The A's owner still requires significant private financing to build the arena despite MLB commissioner Rob Manfred waiving any relocation fees,
