MORE STUPID BASEBALL ECONOMICS

OAKLAND A's TO FANS: DON'T COME TO A's / YANKS OPENER!

John Shea, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, January 29, 2006


The A's aren't downsizing this season with the payroll (that's up) or the personnel (if you've seen Frank Thomas, you know he's no downsize), but with the Coliseum's seating capacity. The evidence was there to see, and hear, at Saturday's FanFest.

Green tarps are covering five upper-deck sections at the Coliseum. By the April 1 exhibition against the Giants, all 53 sections will be tarped and off limits to fans.

And a small sampling of fans found nobody with a positive reaction to the change.

The A's are trying to establish a more intimate atmosphere as well as a higher demand for tickets, which could be tougher to acquire in some cases because the capacity will be 34,077 (not including standing-room tickets), down from 44,073.

"I think it's silly," said Oakland native Charles Edwards, 50. "Losing those seats for teams like the Yankees and Angels, they'll lose revenue. They're going to choke themselves. I think Lew Wolff is a good owner, but I don't think closing the upper deck is going to do it for them."
Steven Moya is a 13-year-old from Antioch who enjoyed sitting in the upper deck.

"That's kind of dumb," he said of eliminating the seats. "I think they'll lose money because of that. Plus, it's a better view from up there."
When told the A's wanted to create a cozier atmosphere, Moya said, "That's not cozy. You're all squished in."

Asked why the A's wouldn't remove the tarps for select games involving the Yankees, Red Sox and Giants -- along with the mid-June weekend Dodger series -- Crowley said, "That's counter to what we're trying to do. It's going to be intimate whether the Yankees are in or the Royals are in."

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