Menu
Franchises

Despite On-Field Success, A's Struggle To Match Bay Area Rival Giants At The Gate

While the A's and Giants are both enjoying success on the field this season, the two teams “sit at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to the fan experience at the ballpark and their viability in their market,” according to a sports section cover story by Jorge Ortiz of USA TODAY. The teams have co-existed in the Bay Area since the A’s moved to Oakland in ‘68. But at a time “when the Giants are enjoying, by several measures, an unprecedented level of popularity, the A’s inability to flourish at the box office as they do on the field has perhaps never been more pronounced.” The teams’ “disparity of more than 21,000” in their average attendance ranks as the “largest by far among baseball’s five two-team markets.” The Giants have drawn “at least 2.8 million fans every season” since opening AT&T Park in ‘00, selling out their “last 142 games through Sunday, the second-longest active streak” in MLB. By contrast, the A’s “surprising run at a playoff spot has been witnessed by the second-smallest average crowd in the majors." Subtracting the two crowds “of more than 43,000 the A’s drew as the home team in their season-opening series in Tokyo, their attendance at the Coliseum ranks last in baseball.” A’s Owner Lew Wolff, who has been pushing for MLB to approve the team's relocation to San Jose, said, “The destination we want is to have an exciting, modern, baseball-only venue that doesn’t get interrupted by pro football. We need all the things other teams have -- sponsorships, a significant number of season ticketholders, just the normal things.” Ortiz notes A’s attendance has “shrank every year" from '03 to '09. The team’s “flagging support, unsettled stadium situation and small payroll … makes it all the more remarkable that they have stayed in the wild-card race” (USA TODAY, 8/14).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2012/08/14/Franchises/Giants-As.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2012/08/14/Franchises/Giants-As.aspx

CLOSE