Oakland A's fans planning 'reverse boycott' at Coliseum to protest Vegas move
Oakland A’s fans don’t deserve anything that’s happened to them this season.
This season, Oakland has been one of MLB’s worst teams. On top of that, attendance is often less than that of Triple-A teams, possums are taking over the stadium, and it looks like the team’s owner, John Fisher, wants to move the team to Las Vegas instead of building a new stadium in Oakland. All of this is, in large part, because Fisher doesn’t want to spend money on his team.
Fans are fed up and they want to prove that this isn’t their fault. They want to prove that they’re good fans and the poor attendance is actually by design, like the movie Major League. So, they planned what is being called a ‘reverse boycott.’
That means, instead of letting the Oakland Coliseum sit empty while the A’s play their home games, fans are planning on packing the stadium. The idea is to show just how good A’s fans are.
Oakland Forever, which is a group run by the fans, has been planning the reverse boycott. That group has the goal of keeping the A’s from moving to Las Vegas and, “Save the Oakland A’s from corrupt ownership, John Fisher.”
Fans in Oakland are handing out thousands of green shirts that read, “SELL,” ahead of the game. To produce those shirts, fans raised $30,000.
On top of protesting at the Coliseum, they are also asking fans around MLB to act in solidarity with A’s fans.
The reverse boycott is going to take place on Tuesday, June 13th against the Tampa Bay Rays. If that feels like a very random game, it’s because they chose a random game with the idea of showing that conditions don’t need to be perfect for Oakland fans.
A timeline for Oakland moving to Las Vegas
Unfortunately, Oakland fans don’t have any real say in the future of the team. If John Fisher wants to move the team to Las Vegas, and seeing as the team bought land to build a stadium on the Vegas Strip it seems like he does, then he will.
As Nevada lawmakers review the plan to move the team, the timeline for Oakland’s potential move has been revealed.
In the year 2023, it looks like two steps will need to happen. The first is legislation approving the move. After that, MLB is going to need to approve the relocation. Then, around 2024 or 2025, construction will begin on the new Las Vegas stadium.
The goal is to have construction completed by 2028, ready for opening day in Vegas that season.