One fan’s campaign to keep the A’s in Oakland
on March 23, 2011
Leon holds up the sign he put up at the A’s game the day he was ejected from the Oakland Coliseum.
The Oakland A’s bring pride to many local baseball fans, but historically low attendance rates and concerns about Oakland Coliseum have prompted team owner Lew Wolff to consider a transition elsewhere.
Wolff began a push in 2006 to move the team to a stadium in Fremont, a plan that was curbed by local opposition. He has now proposed a site in San Jose — 50 miles south — and is waiting on MLB commissioner Bud Selig’s go-ahead to relocate. Though Selig appointed an evaluation committee in 2009 to study the decision’s territorial issues, there is no scheduled determination.
Still, many Oakland A’s fans are flustered by the possibility of a relocation to San Jose. Jorge Leon is one of those fans. He was removed at an A’s game last year for holding a sign that read “Wolff lied, he never tried” to protest the move.
Reporter Evan Wagstaff sat down with Leon to ask what he’s done since then to keep the team in Oakland.
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When you alianate your fanbase with constant talk of relocation you get “low attendance.” Walter Haas had no trouble drawing 2.6, 2.7 and 2.9 million fans to the Oakland Coliseum in three consecutive years. Wolff has sabotaged attendance in Oakland to prove a point to MLB. Wolff has never given Oakland a fair shot and instead has chosen to alienate the fanbase at every turn. Before quoting atendace figures please put the situation into context. Loyality is a two way street.