The A’s Have Major League Problems With Minor League-Level Attendance

The A’s hit yet another low point with attendance at the Coliseum, presenting a sign of further challenges likely arriving for the club. 

The team drew a season-low 3,296 on Tuesday for its 3-2 loss to the Cardinals. Midweek games early in the season are often a challenge for any baseball team, and indeed, the A’s had seven crowds smaller than this in 2023, all but one of those happening on weekdays in April and May. 

But with the A’s now officially headed to Sacramento after this season, on the way toward an eventual and permanent relocation to Las Vegas, the latest total offers additional proof of how far down the local affinity for the A’s has fallen. With the team now having severed any lasting tie to Oakland, there is little reason to expect a dramatic turnaround in the team’s upcoming crowds.

The Oakland Coliseum attendance Tuesday was smaller than:

• The draw at 12 of 15 Triple-A games yesterday 
• The attendance at four Double-A games
• The turnout at three High-A and Single-A games 

For the season to date, Oakland’s attendance average of 5,968 is just 40% of the figure for the next-lowest MLB team, the Marlins at 14,766 per game. The average for the A’s is down by nearly half from a comparable point last year. 

Popcorn Threats

As there are far fewer people attending A’s games at the Coliseum, team concessionaire Aramark is levying a new warning to stadium workers regarding speaking publicly about team and company business. Some Coliseum stadium and concessions workers are facing layoffs in the wake of the impending move to Sacramento for the 2025–27 seasons.

A letter to workers obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle said, “it is against Aramark’s business conduct policy to speak to the government, media, or press on behalf of the company, and/or comment on Aramark/client business matters. This includes reporters, written responses, phone calls, video calls, social media, and any other forms of communication,” adding that “violations of this policy are subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination.”