Athletics Offering BOGO Deal For Opening Days, Fans Continue Boycott Plans

The Oakland Athletics are now offering “Buy One Get One” deals for 2024 Opening Day tickets as diehard fans continue to revolt against owner John Fisher. But sentiment on social media remains overwhelmingly negative, with many rallying behind a movement to boycott the team’s first game in late March.

The Athletics’ attempts to quickly relocate from Oakland to Las Vegas have gone sideways, leaving them stuck between a hostile Bay Area fanbase and a new home that can not yet host them. MLB owners voted unanimously to approve the team’s move, but its multi-billion dollar stadium will not be ready until at least 2027.

Beyond his fellow owners, Fisher’s quest to relocate has been so maligned that Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman said that the Athletics should find a way to stay in Oakland and reunite its existing fanbase.

“I personally think they’ve gotta figure out a way to stay in Oakland and make their dream come true,” Goodman said on the Front Office Sports Today podcast released Tuesday. “I just know that [Fisher] — longtime successful family — in my opinion, needs to listen to the people that are up there. It’s their team.”

Goodman clarified her comments later in a statement, reaffirming that Las Vegas could provide an excellent market for a prospective MLB team. But her candid initial comment sends a clear message that Fisher has lost the battle for public opinion. Still, he perseveres.

In response to Fisher’s stubborn march to Vegas, A’s fans in Oakland have attacked him viciously in the form of online criticism and public demonstrations. Last season, the team held a reverse boycott after Fisher and other MLB officials cited the fanbase’s lack of enthusiasm as a reason to move. In response, nearly 28,000 fans packed into the Oakland Coliseum, often considered the least accommodating stadium in baseball, on a weekday night to watch their team upset the Rays in a 2-1 thriller.

This year’s boycott could be the exact opposite, an attempt to embarrass Fisher and A’s ownership with empty stands on Opening Day. If it succeeds, the message would be clear: the A’s will not be welcome back in Oakland until Fisher sells the team. If anything, the team’s decision to offer two tickets for the price of one is a clear sign of early panic.

Though it’s clear that a vocal group of fans want the A’s to stay in Oakland, that reality becomes less likely by the day. A’s ownership has reportedly not been in contact with the city government in nearly a year, and Mayor Sheng Thao has said that there would be strings attached if the team wanted to arrange a short-term deal to stay at the Oakland Coliseum. The current deal ends at the end of the 2024 season.

Article by Patrick Moquin