It’s been well documented that there is a minuscule amount of fans coming to the Oakland Coliseum to watch the Oakland A’s this season. In a new report about the state of the stadium, it’s easy to see some of the reasons why attendance is plummeting.
The conditions around Oakland Coliseum, home of the Oakland A’s, are seemingly deteriorating as the 2022 season goes along
As part of a letter sent on May 12 by Vice President of Stadium Operations David Rinetti to Coliseum Authority Executive Director Henry Gardner, problems within the Coliseum ranging from moths to cat feces to plumbing leaks were detailed.
Entering Friday’s scheduled home game against the Boston Red Sox, the Oakland A’s ranked at the very bottom of MLB attendance for the 2022 season. On average, the A’s have drawn 7,547 fans per contest, making Oakland the only MLB team to average less than 10,000 fans per game. The average attendance for Miami Marlins games of just under 12,000 is the closest to Oakland.
The letter detailed that a homeless camp was present leading into the Coliseum and that theft was often occurring inside the stadium because of a lack of security on a 24/7 basis.
While some problems listed were aesthetic (such as “The berm has many areas of open dirt and weeds”), there were plenty of other structural concerns to worry about, including plumbing leaks in several areas within the Coliseum, including inside the A’s clubhouse and batting cage areas. Additionally, concerns were raised about a number of seats that “are sometimes out of commission for several games.” These reportedly include seats in what should be a more high ticket price area behind home plate.
One of the biggest questions looming over the franchise is where the team will be playing its games in the not-too-distant future, whether that’s a new stadium in Oakland or the franchise relocating to Las Vegas. But that’s in the future. Right now, the team has to solve several issues in its home stadium as the Coliseum, a place so rich in MLB history, is seemingly crumbling down.