OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) — In an attempt to keep their team in Oakland, A’s fans planned a “reverse boycott” to pack the Coliseum on Tuesday. The goal was to protest the A’s move to Las Vegas and show ownership the team belongs in Oakland.
Despite low attendance this season, it was a different story for the reverse boycott. Coming into Tuesday, the average attendance at A’s home games for 2023 was 8,555.
Attendance at the Coliseum more than tripled as 27,759 fans showed up to see Oakland’s 2-1 win against the Tampa Bay Rays who have the best record in MLB. It was the A’s seventh straight win.
The season-high attendance Tuesday night was the largest crowd for an A’s game since 2018 when the A’s versus Dodgers brought 33,654 fans to the Coliseum on Aug. 7.
A’s manager Mark Kotsay said the home crowd made it feel like it was the postseason.
“Tonight was as close to a playoff crowd as I’ve experienced managing a game,” Kotsay said. “The energy, the atmosphere was everything this stadium can be…”
“A’s fans are good fans. We played here, I think it was in ’19, in the wild card game and that was one of the best atmospheres I’ve ever witnessed in an opposing stadium,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “If it’s like that, it should be loud and it should be fun.”
With Tuesday’s win, the A’s (19-50) no longer have the worst record in MLB as the Kansas City Royals fell to 18-49. Oakland hosts the Rays again Wednesday night with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 p.m.
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Tuesday was a busy night for crowds in Oakland. Next to the Coliseum, there was a sold-out concert at Oakland Arena for K-pop group TWICE. The show was delayed due to traffic coming into the venue as both events shared one parking lot.
With the two events on the same night, BART recorded its second-highest ridership day since March 2020. Only the Warriors’ championship parade last June had more BART riders since.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
