As it has been sadly reported, the Oakland Coliseum, the place that the AL West Oakland A’s baseball team have called home since 1968, has closed its doors for good and many fans and baseball critics have made it known that no one is happy about it. Some of the most interesting perspectives have come from Oakland A’s players themselves, both past and present, who feel like the move to Las Vegas was more about money than the game.
The A’s, who they will now be called when they move the show to Sacramento, played their last game in the Oakland Coliseum this past Thursday in a win against the Texas Rangers, but the bittersweet win was overshadowed by the loss of the stadium, with fans taking bases and bottles of dirt from the field as tearful pieces of memorabilia. Oakland, where legendary players such as Reggie Jackson and Rickey Henderson once called home, closed the doors to the Coliseum where the Athletics have played since 1968. The A’s followed the lead of the Raiders, who left Oakland for Las Vegas just three years ago.
Fans turned up at the Coliseum early in the day in full green and gold regalia. Chants of “Let’s go, Oakland” soon roared throughout the stadium, as did some chants of “Sell the team” in a reference to Oakland A’s owner John Fisher. Despite reportedly being instructed to leave the field immediately following the game, players stayed to honor and pay homage their fans.
Some of the players, current and former, were not at all thrilled or surprised by the move from Oakland and former A’s catcher Bruce Maxwell believes that the move to Vegas will literally hurt the morale of a city that is still reeling from sports team losses.
“Removing the A’s from Oakland is ripping the heart out of Oakland!” exclaims the German-born 33-year-old who made his MLB debut in Oakland in 2016. “So much history that belongs to Oakland. Your goal is to win in sports and if that is not your goal, you shouldn’t be allowed to own a team,” Maxwell says referencing Fisher. “Ownership has shown that they are more focused on saving money than winning. It’s sad for the people of Oakland that it’s happening like this.”
The A’s will be moving to Sacramento for three seasons to Sutter Health Park, home of the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, starting in 2025, with an option for a fourth season, the team announced in April. In the spirit of the Raiders, the plan is to move the A’s organization to Las Vegas by 2028. As for closing the doors to the Coliseum, Maxwell echoed the sentiments of the A’s fans. “It’s bad for Oakland and it’s bad for baseball.”
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