A game with little precedent in Major League history will take place Tuesday night.
Fans will show up en masse to see the Oakland A’s host the Tampa Bay Rays in a “reverse boycott.” The action will seek to demonstrate that the A’s — the team with MLB’s worst record (18-50), smallest payroll ($59.6 million), and lowest average home attendance (8,555) — have fans that will attend games if its ownership commits to staying in Oakland and investing in the team.
Fans are planning to push team owner John Fisher with chants of “Sell the team!” and “Stay in Oakland!” A fan group will give out T-shirts that say “Sell” in white letters against the A’s classic Kelly green.
Meanwhile in Nevada
Nevada legislators passed two amendments to a bill to provide $380 million in public funds, plus additional tax breaks to facilitate a new stadium for the A’s in Las Vegas.
One amendment introduced on Tuesday specified the Tropicana site as the location for the stadium and provided details on the team’s community benefits program. Failure to comply with the program would allow the state’s Stadium Authority to take legal action against the team. Another amendment added language of unrelated bills that were vetoed by Gov. Lombardo.
The A’s are working with Goldman Sachs on a funding arrangement to help the team supply at least $1.1 billion toward the venue, provided public funds are made available, according to the Nevada Independent.
