After announcing departure, A's announce events to "celebrate" final season in Oakland
OAKLAND – A day after the team officially confirmed their departure from Oakland, the A's announced they would "commemorate" their final season at the Coliseum with multiple events and promotions.
"The A's will celebrate fans, employees, and players past and present throughout the 2024 season as the team bids farewell to the Oakland Coliseum," the team said in a statement Friday.
Among the promotions include "Double Play Wednesdays" for home games on June 5 vs. the Seattle Mariners, July 24 vs. the Houston Astros and Aug. 21 vs. the Tampa Bay Rays. Plaza Level Outfield and View Level tickets will be $2.00 and hot dogs will be $1.00.
Tickets for those games will go on sale Wednesday at 9 a.m.
The A's also announced "Alumni Sundays" beginning June 9 and through the end of the season, where former A's are expected to return to the Coliseum for pregame photo and autograph sessions. The team's announcement did not list when specific players would attend.
On the Aug. 17 Bay Bridge Series game against the San Francisco Giants, the team will have its annual Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Inductees this year include former players Jose Canseco, Terry Steinbach, Miguel Tejada and Eddie Joost, along with former manager Dick Williams and legendary announcer Bill King.
For the team's final regular season home game on Sep. 26 vs. the Texas Rangers, the first 25,000 fans in attendance would receive a replica of the Coliseum.
On Thursday, owner John Fisher announced the team would play at least three seasons at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, home of the Sacramento River Cats minor league franchise, starting in 2025. The team would then move to Las Vegas to a newly-built stadium on the Las Vegas Strip.
The move, part of a years-long saga on finding a new ballpark for the team, has outraged longtime fans of the Green and Gold, along with local leaders and even sports analysts. Oakland has been home to the A's since 1968.
Whether the promotions will raise the team's dismal attendance numbers remains to be seen. Last season, 832,352 fans attended A's home games at the Coliseum, the lowest among all 30 MLB teams and the only team to report attendance under 1 million.
So far this year, 45,086 fans attended the opening seven-game homestand, which included fans boycotting the team's opener in the stadium parking lot.