The Oakland A's have solid (waste) proof UPDATE: It happened again

Re: The Oakland A's have solid (waste) proof that their stadium stinks

All I ask is that if they leave the city of Oakland, they change their name to the Californi-A's.

 

Re: The Oakland A's have solid (waste) proof that their stadium stinks

Montreal ain't building shit, especially when they're still paying off the Big Owe.

 

Re: The Oakland A's have solid (waste) proof that their stadium stinks

It was finally paid off in 2006, $1.6 billion later, 33 years after construction began.

 

Re: The Oakland A's have solid (waste) proof that their stadium stinks

Time flies when your baseball team leaves town.

 

Re: The Oakland A's have solid (waste) proof that their stadium stinks

There are three big factors in play here... One, is Bonds. What happened after the 1992 season? Bonds was signed. The only year since then that the A's beat them in attendance was in 1995. Then there is the new stadium. I haven't been to every ballpark, especially the really new ones, and I may be biased, but AT&T Park is the nicest I've been to. That place is amazing.

Last, but not least, there's been success, especially in the years since Bonds left. The Giants became a much more likable team after Bonds left, and the fact that they've won two of the last three World Series, I'm sure doesn't hurt attendance.

 

Re: The Oakland A's have solid (waste) proof that their stadium stinks

Other Factors to consider -

1) Aging - Not only did Lansford retire, Dave Stewart leave, Dave Henderson get injured, Walt Weiss and Canseco get traded and Bob Welch get old, but the much-hyped farm system (Todd Van Poppel, anyone?) didn't replace them.

2) The Strike - Old news at this point, but the A's (like the Expos and White Sox) were one of those teams contending for a division title in '94 who saw their attendance fall of a cliff once play resumed. Oakland drew 2 million in '93

3) The Raiders Move Back - The Coliseum, unlike the multi-purpose stadium of its generation (Veterans, Riverfront, Fulton County, Three Rivers), was a nice place to watch a game. Then, in dropped Mt. Davis. The Raiders totalled fleeced the city of Oakland, which has been weary to subsidize anything pro sports related ever since.

And to your point about the Giants, they've thrived with the formula of keeping their stars, building a new park and getting owners who don’t openly talk about moving.

 

Re: The Oakland A's have solid (waste) proof that their stadium stinks

The Giants did a lot more than that. They are brilliant at marketing. I have always believed their biggest move was signing Bonds in 1993 but their second-biggest move was signing Jon Miller in 1997. Between that and the emergence of Kruk-Kuip, their games have always been so much more enjoyable than the A's, and that as much as anything has created the new generation of fans. In many other ways they create so much buzz for themselves and always have, even before the ballpark but especially since then.

There was also a big shift in demographics in that time that benefited the Giants. As the Oakland core deteriorated, San Francisco became the glamour city of America; and more to the point, the money was on that side of the bay too. 1995 is the last year on that list that the A's led in attendance. It is no coincidence that Netscape's IPO, which touched off the tech boom, happened in August 1995. Whatever money comes from tech and goes to baseball, it all goes to the Giants right now.

I don't think the on-field baseball parts have been the only force or even the primary force in any of this. EDIT: OK I shouldn't say that, because the fact that the Giants made the playoffs in '97 right after the Matt Williams trade was huge. But good baseball alone wasn't going to save the A's situation.

 

Re: The Oakland A's have solid (waste) proof that their stadium stinks

The Giants were also smart in going "small" with the stadium (40k), creating demand and spurring advanced sales. The A's with even more seats available after the Raiders moved back in (wait for it - 1995) and the Haas family sold the team in (again - wait for it, 1995).

 

Re: The Oakland A's have solid (waste) proof that their stadium stinks

People really stopped coming after the McGwire trade, which was the only reason to go see that team at the time... They had to trade him, but it would have been interesting to see if roided-out McGwire could have broken Maris' record while playing in a park that can tend to favor pitchers.

I went to a few games in 2002 and even though the team was really quite good, they didn't seem to be drawing as well as you would expect a team that good to... I did see Zito shut out the Mariners toward the end of the year and they had a crowd that had to be approaching 40,000.

 

Re: The Oakland A's have solid (waste) proof that their stadium stinks

I also think that despite Moneyball's success, it also makes marketing a team very difficult. I couldn't name the longest-tenured player on the A's, as soon as a player gains some traction he gets traded. The Giants have Buster Posey, the Panda, Lincecum, Zito, and Cain. Cespedes might be the first really marketable player the A's have had since the broke up Hudson, Mulder and Zito.
(okay - looked it up) Brett Anderson is the A's longest tenured player and he's only been around four years.

 

Re: The Oakland A's have solid (waste) proof that their stadium stinks

Yeah Brett Anderson (2009) and Jerry Blevins (2007) are the longest tenured. Not exactly a who's-who.

I went to a couple games in '02, when turnstiles really got rolling once the 20-game win streak occurred. I wanted to go to the ALDS that year, but couldn't, because it conflicted with work (I was covering San Mateo County high school games). To see all those empty seats on national TV -- the A's couldn't so much as draw 35,000 -- was just beyond embarrassing.

 

Re: The Oakland A's have solid (waste) proof that their stadium stinks

Well this just got good -- San Jose files a federal antitrust lawsuit against MLB. They're up against the federal antitrust exemption, of course, but my impression has always been that that isn't as iron-clad as baseball would have you believe.

http://www.mercurynews.com/athletics/ci_23485245/san-jose-sues-mlb-over-stalled-oakland-move