All Access at the ballpark in Oakland

July 29, 2019 10:03 AM

The Oakland A's are trying to solve baseball's attendance issues,a year in it looks like a large success, having doubled the number of plan holders. With the new season plan you get access to every home game, even if you sold your ticket to a seat, as well at 50% off concessions.

Viewed as more of a subscription model, it's been a success story in getting people into the park and enjoying the (hopefully!) playoff bound A's.

"Nineteen of the 30 teams have seen their average fall from a similar point last year, with the largest drops in Toronto (6,963), San Francisco (6,463), Baltimore (3,839) and Detroit (3,686).

Large rises have taken place for Philadelphia (10,383), Oakland (4,027), San Diego (3,465) and the Chicago White Sox (2,311). The Phillies signed Bryce Harper, and the Padres added Manny Machado."

posted by Carillon (15 comments total)

I am a season ticket holder so very excited to see this working for them! It was pretty different when it was first proposed so glad it's been successful. I hope a lot of this will transfer over to the much hyped theoretical new stadium. It's pretty fantastic to spend less than 40 dollars on beers and food at a game. I went to Oracle last week to watch the Giants play and there's a beer option there that costs 20 bucks. Really put into relief how nice it's been.
posted by Carillon at 10:06 AM on July 29, 2019 [3 favorites]

> with the largest drops in Toronto

I usually go to a couple of Jays games a year, and while I generally enjoy them I wouldn't want to be in charge of trying to entice casual fans to attend games featuring a lousy team in a cavernous, personality-free stadium* where even crappy beer costs over ten bucks and everything else is similarly overpriced.

* which, to be fair, is extremely easy to get to and does have nice views of the CN Tower if the dome is open
posted by The Card Cheat at 10:45 AM on July 29, 2019 [1 favorite]

As someone living in Boston, the idea that the baseball park wouldn't be full to capacity every game is wild to me. (I'm not even a baseball person, but Fenway is always crazy-full.)
posted by xingcat at 10:53 AM on July 29, 2019 [2 favorites]

True but to be fair, Fenway is the fourth smallest baseball park, in terms of seating capacity.
posted by lyssabee at 10:59 AM on July 29, 2019 [3 favorites]

The Twins are doing the same standing-room subscription thing (though I don't think it comes bundled with seats?). It's such a tempting idea to be able to pop in for a few innings on my way home from work anytime I want. Just my luck that the team is actually performing this year, making it a much less casual affair.
posted by Think_Long at 11:10 AM on July 29, 2019 [1 favorite]

Interesting too that the coliseum expands up to 56k which is huge for baseball standards. It can definitely feel cavernous as well on Tuesday night games in May when it's not even a third full of the current 47k capacity.
posted by Carillon at 11:14 AM on July 29, 2019

With 50% off concessions, the Coliseum is the best value for your beer-drinking and stadium-food-eating dollar in Oakland these days. Plus you get to see a baseball game!
posted by turbowombat at 12:02 PM on July 29, 2019 [3 favorites]

As someone living in Boston, the idea that the baseball park wouldn't be full to capacity every game is wild to me.

The Coliseum is frelling enormous. Even when the As are doing well, there's a ton of empty space.

My niece and her BF have the All-Access tickets, and they are clearly having a fun summer with them.
posted by suelac at 12:57 PM on July 29, 2019

turbowombat: " Plus you get to see a baseball game!"

Well, if you call that baseball...

[Go Giants!]
posted by chavenet at 1:20 PM on July 29, 2019 [2 favorites]

Not so coincidentally, the four teams with the biggest drops are just terrible. Even with the Giants just slightly over .500, it’s the wrong year for Even Year Bullshit.

Well, if you call that baseball...

Looking forward to the Giants buying this trade deadline, just to not make it to the Wildcard and to lose Will Smith and Bumgarner to free agency.
posted by sideshow at 1:28 PM on July 29, 2019 [2 favorites]

sideshow: "Even with the Giants just slightly over .500"

This is eliding the comeback story of this midseason
posted by chavenet at 2:00 PM on July 29, 2019

The half-off concessions bring it into the realm of reasonable, and the food is dramatically improved this year. They've got Impossible Burgers, boba tea, just overall a lot more variety. The A's aren't my team, and I've really enjoyed the dividends of being able to sit in the front row for $100 a seat, literally, but if they can fill seats and make more money, more power to them. I just worry, for the long term, about all this emphasis on the die-hard fan. You have to have cable to watch the games instead of seeing them on the big 3/4 networks. You have to have a season ticket to get affordable food. There's nothing for the casual fan who might bring the kids once a year. I think the cheapest beer is $10? It's the Bay Area, things are pricey, but I refuse to pay that on principle.
posted by wnissen at 2:45 PM on July 29, 2019 [1 favorite]

I think the domestics get down to $8 a beer without the discount. And price wise that's the best deal you'll find at any major sports park in the bay area. But yeah there's definitely a focus on die-hard fans in the MLB, but I worry the other option is more of a focus on a corporate experience. Look at the niners move, it pretty clearly didn't care about the die hard fan and ended up being the corporatized mess that Levi's is.
posted by Carillon at 3:04 PM on July 29, 2019 [1 favorite]

Thanks for this; I just switched jobs and the ballpark's close enough to my new employer that I could reasonably go after work much more often. Some kind of subscription plan would work! Just need a reasonably-priced and flexible way to watch the game somewhere closer than the outfield bar area, preferably with a railing I can use to rest my scorecard and beer.
posted by asperity at 10:26 AM on July 30, 2019

I mean, beers are $8 at the single-A games I attend, so I expect at least that for MLB. Hoping the success of this flexible season model will spread to other teams/stadia.
posted by a halcyon day at 2:02 PM on July 30, 2019