The A's distributed 200,000 free tickets for tomorrow's game against the White Sox in celebration of their 50th anniversary, and the team expects around 70,000 fans "to show up based on RSVPs," according to a front-page piece by Susan Slusser of the S.F CHRONICLE. The projected overflow crowd will not "count in terms of official attendance, however, which is based on tickets sold." With "meager fan turnout" so far this season, the A's totals are "certain to be near the bottom of the league again" after averaging the second-lowest attendance in MLB for two seasons in a row. The A's first homestand of the season had "alarming attendance figures," with the team twice drawing fewer than 8,000 fans to a venue that "holds more than 40,000." On April 2, a game against the Rangers "attracted a paltry 7,416 fans, the team's smallest crowd" since '03. Tomorrow's game will likely see the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum "packed to the brim" because of the free tickets for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the team's first game in Oakland. A's President Dave Kaval said that one reason attendance is down is that the team has "reduced the number of brokers selling A's tickets in an effort to improve customer service and maintain resale value for season-ticket holders." A "more profound effect" might be that the A's "raised general parking prices at the Coliseum from $20 to $30." The ballpark itself, even with new amenities such as this season's Treehouse party-deck area and the Farm picnic area, is "outdated and missing many amenities of newer buildings" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 4/16).
