A's Expect Packed Coliseum For Free-To-Enter Throwback Game

The A's tonight are celebrating 50 seasons in Oakland by offering "free admission and parking" for their home game against the White Sox, and about 70,000 people "have sent RSVPs indicating their intention to attend." The A's are "expecting a full house" of more than 65,000 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, with the "tarps removed and seating normally used for football also accessible." The A's to date this season have drawn a total of 121,698 fans to their first eight home games (USA TODAY, 4/17). Both teams "will be wearing 1968-style uniforms" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 4/17).

A's manager Bob Melvin said, "It should be very exciting. ... When there's 15,000 (fans) here it sounds like 30,000. I don't know what the number's going to be, but it's going to feel like double that" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 4/17). It "could be an epic night, or it could be a nightmare, based on how inebriated and rowdy the Oakland 'fans' are" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 4/17).