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Shop at Jay’s Market at 190 East Flamingo Road at the Koval Lane intersection east of the Strip.
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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
OAKLAND, California — It was 9:07 AM on Independence Day when I pulled into a parking space at the Coliseum off Interstate 880.
The security guard at the shack said just follow the other cars to Lot H and here I am exactly four before the 1:07 PM start between the Athletics and the Angels.
It’s the last Fourth of July for the A’s in Oakland. The A’s announced attendance at 11,596 for today’s matinee
This American League charter franchise that was a powerhouse in Philadelphia before moving west to Kansas City and eventually Oakland is working with architects, contractors and builders to fashion a $1.5 billion palatial stadium at the former Tropicana site on the Strip for the 2028 season.
After the A’s say goodbye to Oakland in 2024, the onetime playoff contender will play in a Triple-A minor league baseball park in Sacramento in 2025, 2026 and 2027 before moving into their new stadium on the Strip 2028.That’s the plan, anyway.
LVSportsBiz.com cruised the sprawling, massive stadium with hallways everywhere behind the stands. We found our way to the rightfield bleachers, where a “Sell” flag was strung to a railing and longtime drummer Esperanza Uruena and her daughter, Catalina, sat. A nearby friend was playing the cowbell, with Esperanza on the drum.
Uruena will not drum again after this season. She explains why in our interview:
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After 88 games heading into July 4, the A’s have compiled a record of 32 wins and 56 losses, dropping into last place of the American League West.
The Athletics’ attendance was 318,714 after 42 home dates, averaging 7,588 a game. It’s obviously the lowest in the majors. Today’s announced attendance of 11,596 on the Fourth of July might not sound too beefy, but it was a nice bump up from 7,588 a game.
Fans here are among the most intense, clever and yes, committed, fan base I have met across the country.
Fans’ emotions run the gamut from sadness and bitterness to anger and resignation amid owner John Fisher’s plan to build a 33,000-seat domed stadium on the Strip after the Nevada Legislature approved $380 million in government assistance toward Fisher’s planned $1.5 billion stadium.
There was no group in Las Vegas lobbying for an MLB team like you see in Salt Lake City, Utah, for example. The A’s came to Las Vegs with hat out seeking public stadium money.
And Clark County, which can’t say no to major league teams or big sports event organizers, was a willing partner along with the Las Vegas construction community, the trades and the Culinary Union. The A’s agreed to have their stadium members be unionized. (The culinary is trying to unionize the workers at the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium.)
Fisher’s decision to leave Oakland for Las Vegas after pitching several sites in the metro Oakland area broke hearts in the East Bay.
The Athletics social media has shut off comments on the team’s X platform.
Running point for Fisher on the Vegas stadium is A’s team president Dave Kaval, who once visited every MLB stadium with a buddy after his Stanford graduation and told LVSportsBiz.com that some stadium features he saw from that stadium trek will be incorporated into the ballpark on the Strip.
Kaval has the peculiar job of working on three stadium jobs at one time — saying goodbye to the Coliseum in 2024, preparing Sacramento for 2025-27 seasons and guiding the new Las Vegas stadium on the Strip.
The Las Vegas stadium board, the public panel overlooking the A’s stadium project on the Strip, will discuss the Athletics stadium at a meeting set for July 18, just two weeks from today.
The Raiders last played here in 2019 before moving to Las Vegas to play in Allegiant Stadium, a $2 billion project that included $1.4 billion for just the construction budget. The Warriors played in the arena a mere strip of pavement away from the Coliseum.
The other baseball stadium in this market, the San Francisco Giants’ Oracle Park, stands as a stark contrast to the Coliseum. It’s like comparing the Bellagio to Circus Circus.
LVSportsBiz.com strolled around the stands and it was disappointing to see the faded green seats and miscolored concrete in front of seats in the lower bowl close to the field.
A Coliseum worker was dusting spiders away from the dugout at around 9:45 AM. That’s a little conspicuous than the possum of the press box.
After 12 noon, fans began fanning out to their seats in this vast baseball venue, the size and scale of which dwarfed the A’s faithful folks.
This baseball stadium has stories to tell — winning three World Series titles in 1972, 1973 and 1974 over the Reds, Mets and Dodgers; making three straight World Series appearances from 1988-90 including a Bay Area World Series championship in 1989; and postseason appearances 11 times in 20 years in the 2000s.
And the names — Jackson, Hunter, Henderson, Stewart, Fingers, Eckersley, Bando, Mulder, Tejada. The list goes on.
And fans bought in with their emotions and their money to this franchise on the east side of the Bay.
Their intensity, their research and their passion regarding the A’s stadium plan for Las Vegas easily outdistance the interest of people living in the Las Vegas market. You can sense the hurt and pain among the fans.
The A’s polished off the Angels, 5-0, in a game that lasted two hours and 38 minutes. There were only eight base knocks between the two teams.
The Baltimore Orioles come to the Coliseum Friday evening for a 6:40 PM start. LVSportsBiz.com will be back.