Anger and sadness felt amongst fans as final Oakland A's game at Coliseum approaches
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Thousands of A's fans packed into the Coliseum this past weekend as the team is approaching what is likely to be their final game ever in Oakland on Thursday.
"It just feels like a punch in the gut for them to be leaving," said baseball fan Alicia Valenzuela.
"It doesn't seem real, but it is," said former A's executive Andy Dolich.
Now just three more games are scheduled in Oakland before the team finishes the season in Seattle. Then they plan to head to Sacramento and eventually Las Vegas.
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"The celebration that A's ownership is talking about. This is not a celebration, to a certain extent this is a funeral," said Dolich.
Saturday night's drone and fireworks show after the game included shots of Dennis Eckersley, Rickey Henderson holding up that base when he got the record in 1993, and the saying, "Let's Go Oakland."
"I've seen fireworks and drone shows there before but this one had a little more emotion to it because it was talking about the last 57 years in Oakland and just it's hard to feel that it's the last one," said A's fan Alex Harmon.
While the wave at Saturday's game was impressive and reminiscent of the first wave that started in Oakland in 1981, there is tension and anger among fans.
A "Thank you, Oakland" sign could be seen outside the Coliseum Sunday night and a "Thank You, Oakland" ad was in Sunday's Chronicle and Mercury News, but the comments online weren't so friendly.
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"To see them relocate is really painful even though that may not be my favorite team but they're a key piece to our culture in the Bay Area," said Valenzuela.
The MLB players association has voiced concern over artificial turf being used at the stadium in Sacramento. ABC7 News asked Dolich if that and other concerns in Vegas could be enough to scrub the A's move.
"Taking it out of one of the most significant markets in the country to ultimately take it to Las Vegas, am I gonna put all my money on the table that it's going to happen? No, but in terms of Sacramento yes it will happen," said Dolich.
The final A's game at the Coliseum is Thursday and the cheapest ticket in the upper deck is going for around $60. Tickets are closer to two, three, and four hundred dollars in the lower areas.
