The A's will open their season today with the "constant questions of their future dancing in their heads,” as this could mark “perhaps the last home opener” in the 57-year history of Oakland Coliseum, according to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY. The A's know they are "moving to Las Vegas in 2028" and their Coliseum lease "expires after this season." But they "don't know where they will be spending the next three years.” A’s P Ross Stripling said the pending decision “hasn’t been a distraction so far.” Manager Mark Kotsay said that in many ways it “should be easier to block out the noise.” Nightengale noted there is “no longer a question of whether the A’s are staying or going,” rather it is “just a question of where they’ll be playing the next three years until their Vegas pad is ready.” Kotsay said he thinks dealing with the distractions last year has "made it a little easier for the guys that went through it.” Kotsay: “The distractions are still there, but I think the focus is more on baseball.” Nightengale noted two A’s fan groups are “planning an Opening Night protest” for the club's game tonight against the Guardians (USA TODAY, 3/27).
SHADY TACTICS: A’s fan group Last Dive Bar founder Bryan Johansen, an organizer of the boycott, said that while 26,805 people went to the team’s opening game at the Coliseum last year, “almost as many are planning to show up to the parking lot" today while "boycotting the actual game." In San Jose, Jason Mastrodonato wrote the A's, however, “appear to be staging a protest of their own.” While last year they "opened the parking lots four hours before the season-opener," this year they “aren’t playing ball.” The team plans to “keep the parking lot gates closed until two hours before the 7:07 p.m. PT game,” a plan that could “present serious public safety concerns if cars are stuck in line, potentially blocking the freeway exit and creating miles-long traffic jams.” Oakland Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan yesterday asked the team to “open their parking lot earlier ‘and not harm community health and safety by creating a backup’” (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 3/27).
