Merely five years ago, Oakland, Calif., was one of the top sporting cities in America. The city was home to three iconic teams: the Warriors, who had become wildly popular by winning three NBA finals in four years; the Raiders, often said to have the rowdiest fans in all of football; and the Athletics, nine-time World Series champions. Each team had spent decades in Oakland, but ownership decided to leave the city behind.
First, in 2019, the Warriors moved across the Bay to San Francisco. Then, in 2020, the Raiders packed up and built a $2 billion stadium in Las Vegas. Thus, all that remained in Oakland was the Athletics. The A’s home stadium, the Oakland Coliseum, was built in 1966 and had not been maintained and renovated with the same success that ballparks like Fenway Park and Wrigley Field had been. The city of Oakland began inquiring about building a new stadium in November 2010. While Athletics fans may have supported the idea of a new stadium, when the Warriors and Raiders vanished, it became clear that the ballpark would not be constructed in Oakland. In May 2021, the Athletics officially announced that they were exploring relocation options and had a strong interest in Las Vegas.
As expected, fans had developed an animosity toward Athletics owner John Fisher. Fisher had previously come under criticism in the baseball community for attempting to decrease the salary of Athletics’ minor league players during the shortened COVID-19 season. In 2023, reports of the Athletics nearing a deal with Las Vegas surfaced, leading the fans to collectively boycott games resulting in a massive drop in attendance. However, in June as the rumors of a deal closing with Vegas got louder, A’s fans had a stroke of brilliance. On June 13, 2023, the Nevada State Senate passed a funding bill to help in the construction of a new stadium; as this bill was being passed, roughly 28,000 fans packed the Coliseum in what they called a reverse boycott. Fans sitting in the front row all wore the same kelly green T-shirt with one word across their chest: “Sell.” When the game reached the fifth inning, the stadium went quiet in a moment of silence for the 50-plus years of Oakland Athletics fandom before in unison fans chanted “Sell the team” so loud that Athletics pitcher Hogan Harris couldn’t hear his wireless pitch communication device and had to pause the game.
Despite the enormous success of the reverse boycott, Fisher followed through with his plans to rid Oakland of its final professional sports team. It was announced that 2024 would be the A’s final season in Oakland. The Athletics announced they will play their 2025-27 seasons at Sutter Health Park, a minor league stadium in Sacramento, while the new ballpark is built on the Las Vegas strip. The final games of the 2024 season wrapped up and while baseball fans around the country were concerned about the playoff race, Oakland residents were witnessing the final professional sports games to take place in their home city. On Sept. 26, the Coliseum sold out its final event. 47,000 fans occupied every last seat to cheer on their Athletics one last time. The A’s defeated their divisional rivals the Texas Rangers by a score of 3-2 to thunderous cheers.
Relocation has always existed in sports and has a fascinating effect on fanbases. When the Dodgers left Brooklyn in 1957, a small group of fans followed the team to Los Angeles, some vowed never to watch baseball again and most jumped ship to support the Yankees or Mets. Fandom is an individual choice and, because of this, the community splits in different directions when relocation occurs. The team that has represented a town or city for decades is suddenly not there anymore to unify those people. A’s fans who partook in the boycott and feel betrayed by the organization may very well be finished with Major League Baseball. With Sutter Health Park being located over an hour outside of Oakland, the Athletics fans who decide to continue supporting the ballclub will be in for a challenge.
