A's announce worst attendance in over 4 decades
It doesn't take long to count the fans at an Oakland Athletics game these days.
Attendance for their Monday tilt against the Tampa Bay Rays at Oakland Coliseum was announced at 2,488, the lowest paid attendance for the A's since Sept. 9, 1980, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Those figures don't include the pandemic-impacted 2020 and 2021 campaigns, which had attendance limitations.
Rays slugger Yandy Diaz got the offense going early with a leadoff homer into the left-field seats, which looked entirely vacant on the replay:
Good evening from Oakland, pic.twitter.com/BSbbdL2m2L
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) May 3, 2022
The poor showing comes a week after A's president Dave Kaval criticized the San Francisco Giants' attendance during the Bay Bridge Series. That game at Oracle Park featured 32,898 spectators, which is 30,410 (13 times) more than Monday's game in Oakland.
Following an offseason lockout that postponed the start of the 2022 campaign, the A's traded away stars Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Chris Bassitt, and Sean Manaea.
Amid the sudden rebuild, team owners and executives are currently entertaining the idea of relocating the club to Las Vegas. They would become the second major sports team from Oakland to leave for Nevada, following the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders, who moved before the 2020 season.
Entering Monday, the A's were averaging 9,016 fans per home game, according to Baseball Reference. That ranks dead last among all 30 clubs, well behind the second-last Pittsburgh Pirates, who are getting 12,256 fans per game.
In front of the poor turnout, the A's lost 6-1, falling to 10-13 on the season and extending their current losing streak to four games.