The dark days of the Oakland Athletics are sinking deeper. The fans are leaving, and the way out is seldom in sight.
On the 5th (hereinafter Korean time), a match between the Major League (MLB) Oakland and the Cleveland Guardians was held at the Ring Central Coliseum in Oakland, California, USA. Oakland almost suffered a come-from-behind defeat 2-3, but tied the score in the bottom of the 6th inning with a wild throw from the opponent, and won a thrilling 4-3 victory with Tony Kemp’s finishing hit in the bottom of the 9th.
The content of the game was interesting, but the scenery in the stands was desolate. The number of spectators who visited the Coliseum that day was 3,407. It is a disastrous number that is unbelievable for an MLB game. The maximum number of spectators that the Coliseum Stadium can accommodate is 47,170. If more seats are added, up to 50,000 people can fit in, but the reality is not so. It is less than the number of spectators in the KBO League on the same day. The match between NC Dinos and Doosan Bears held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on this day attracted 2,170 spectators despite windy and cold weather, and 4,194 spectators visited the match between LG Twins and Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome.
American ‘Yahoo Sports’ pointed out a painful place메이저놀이터, saying, “Among the Triple A matches held on the same day, 11 teams beat Oakland in terms of the number of spectators. Also, there were 4 Triple A teams with twice as many spectators as the Oakland matches.” did.
Auckland fans call these days ‘The Dark Ages’. After winning the district in 2020, Auckland are back on the road to rebuilding. The problem is the drop in number of spectators. The number of spectators who visited the home stadium of Oakland last year was overwhelmingly the lowest among the 30 MLB teams. The total number of spectators for one season is 761,503. That’s a little over 10,000 per game. The Los Angeles Dodgers, the number one team in spectators, has a total of 3,576,599 spectators, an average of over 47,000 per game. Excluding the Corona 19 pendemic period, it was the worst box office performance ever.
The problem is that this year’s poor box office performance continues. In the regular season opener against the Los Angeles Angels, 26,805 spectators visited, but the effect of Ohtani Shohei, the starting pitcher of the opposing team, the Angels, could not be ignored. The next day, the number of spectators plummeted to 15,757, and after the Angels series ended, the number dropped to 3,035 against Cleveland on the 4th. Cleveland’s three-game home attendance was 3035-3407-4930.
All things are not good. Auckland’s home ground, the Coliseum, is in the middle of a high-crime area. Even an adult male with a robust body can hardly walk around at night. The surrounding environment is so desolate and poor, and there is even a risk of crime, so it is difficult for spectators to find it easily. The same goes for away spectators. Here, Auckland’s recent team performance has been at the bottom, and fans’ interest has fallen even more as key players have been sent out for rebuilding.
Oakland owner John Fisher has been looking for a relocation for several years. Recently, the MLB Secretariat even acknowledged Auckland’s move to Las Vegas. However, as the city of Auckland, which became desperate, actively caught on, the story of the transfer of the hometown came back. However, alternatives such as improving the environment around the home stadium and constructing a new stadium are emerging. However, it is unclear when and how this will be implemented. There are also a lot of voices criticizing the club’s high-ranking officials.