Might as well post this before someone puts it in a comment.
A new site, oklnd.com, is selling baseball-style shirts with traditional Oakland A's colors, but sans the "A's." Part sociopolitical statement, part middle finger to management and baseball. Some will say it's clever, some will say it's pointless. To me it looks like a rip-off of CSN California's ad campaign.
The site is run by SF-based Typebox, LLC. Typebox is fronted by Mike Kohnke, who is "best known for his innovative type designs." (see Wikipedia page and history)
On a tangentially related note, I'm reminded of Oklahoma City sportstalk host Jim Traber, who grilled (MP3) OKC Thunder power forward Nick Collison for saying how nice the weather was in Collison's offseason (and former in-season) home of Seattle.
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Keeping track of all news and events revolving around the pursuit of a new ballpark for the Oakland Athletics.
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Which team is LA-bound?
Previous Polls
5/25 - The SJ Giants should...
Stay in SJ - 16 (17%)
Be reborn as the SJ A's - 7 (7%)
Move to North/East Bay - 27 (29%)
Move to Salinas/South Co. - 25 (27%)
Move elsewhere in CA - 16 (17%)
4/5 - At a game I usually eat...
Stadium fare - 81 (64%)
Food I got from another establishment - 11 (8%)
Tailgate grub - 8 (6%)
Something I brought from home - 19 (15%)
Nothing - 6 (4%)
3/15 - Projected '09 Attendance
17,500 per game - 37 (31%)
20,000 - 33 (28%)
22,500 - 25 (21%)
25,000 - 10 (8%)
27,500 - 3 (2%)
30,000 - 9 (7%)
3/8 - Ideal Ballpark Capacity?
30,000 - 13 (5%)
35,000 - 83 (33%)
40,000 - 114 (46%)
45,000 - 28 (11%)
50,000 - 8 (3%)
3/1 - The A's will end up in:
Oakland - 90 (32%)
San Jose - 153 (55%)
Sacramento - 17 (6%)
Elsewhere - 15 (5%)
Stay in SJ - 16 (17%)
Be reborn as the SJ A's - 7 (7%)
Move to North/East Bay - 27 (29%)
Move to Salinas/South Co. - 25 (27%)
Move elsewhere in CA - 16 (17%)
4/5 - At a game I usually eat...
Stadium fare - 81 (64%)
Food I got from another establishment - 11 (8%)
Tailgate grub - 8 (6%)
Something I brought from home - 19 (15%)
Nothing - 6 (4%)
3/15 - Projected '09 Attendance
17,500 per game - 37 (31%)
20,000 - 33 (28%)
22,500 - 25 (21%)
25,000 - 10 (8%)
27,500 - 3 (2%)
30,000 - 9 (7%)
3/8 - Ideal Ballpark Capacity?
30,000 - 13 (5%)
35,000 - 83 (33%)
40,000 - 114 (46%)
45,000 - 28 (11%)
50,000 - 8 (3%)
3/1 - The A's will end up in:
Oakland - 90 (32%)
San Jose - 153 (55%)
Sacramento - 17 (6%)
Elsewhere - 15 (5%)
Selected posts
- Tuesday with Lew
- The post-Fremont strategy
- A's move to KTRB
- CSN California it is!
- Updated Ballpark Transit Comparison
- Lucky? San Jose
- Don't want San Jose info? ...
- KTVU: Selig letter surfaces
- A Territorial Rights Primer
- Finally, Oakland responds
- Fall 2008 Progress Report
- Reconstructing the Coliseum
- Oakland: Let's try Plan B
- Deconstruction the Coliseum Part I
- Deconstructing the Coliseum Part II
- Hope for Sacramento?
- What about Sacramento?
- More Market-Related Food for Thought
- Expect to go over budget
Site Overviews
Links
- FAQ (2/28/09)
- Fremont FAQ (old)
- SJ Redevelopment Ballpark Page
- Athletics Nation
- in Oakland blog (SFGate)
- Oakland A's Fan Coalition
- Let's Go Oakland
- Baseball San Jose blog
- Free Kraut!
- scout.com A's Msg Board
- Oakball message boards
- Ballpark Digest
- Ballparks.com
- CapeFish's Marlins Ballpark Newspage
- 511 - Bay Area Transit links
- Field of Schemes
- The Biz of Baseball
- The late Doug Pappas's BoB site
- Team Marketing Report
Attendance Watch '09
- Last game: 16,591
- 2009 avg. (81 gms): 17,392
- 2008 avg. (78 gms): 19,938
- Difference: -2,530 per game
- Median (2008): 19,287
- 2009 total (81 gms): 1,408,783
- 2008 total (78 gms): 1,555,192
- 2008 total (w. Japan): 1,663,262
- 2009 Std Dev: 6,718
- 2008 Std Dev: 7,094
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28 comments:
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Sn Jose!
Nah.
I always thought they should get the Fonz. He could jump the HSR terminal on his sickle, and shout "A-a's"
They'd have to drop the 'e'. Instead, San Jos-A's!
..yes, how dare those A's look to leave Oakland, after mostly 40 years of bottom-rung attendance despite winning 4 World Series?
So is this dude making an argument for not having the A's? Does this speak to the general feeling in Oakland toward the A's?
I don't really get it?
And there magically going to have great attendance in a city that has never had pro baseball? Use your brain Paul. People will come if a nice new park is built in a good area that accommodates what people want, and need. In Oakland.
The shirts are pretty much indicating that Oakland wouldn't be the same without the A's. It's part of their history and culture.
Anon at 9:09: I'd say having a world-class, Series-winning team (the Coliseum was all of about 7 years old wen the A's started winning World Series) with excellent BART and highway access ought to have been enough for the folks in the A's territory to come out and support the team. But they have largely failed to do. Apparently, anybody could walk up and get World Series tickets the day of the game, something unheard of elsewhere.
Oakland: 400,000 people, weak corporate support
San Jose: 1 million people (to grow by 400,000 in the next 35 years) and excellent corporate support. The Sharks sell out every year, even when they stink. The Sharks have never won anything.
Do the math on which is the better place for the A's, Anon
the Okland t-shirts could best be described by that old song line: "Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you got till it's gone?"
Largely taken for granted, ignored and neglected by Oakland, now that the A's want to leave, Oakland seems to have "discovered" the A's.
I've seen this before: the New Jersey Devils almost left New Jersey in 1995 after 15 seasons of apathy. People went nuts and the team stayed, but the apathy largely remains.
The A's aren't neglected by Oakland so much as the rest of the East Bay. City residents do seem to take pride in the team, but the casual suburbanites are easily swayed to a nice ballpark and Lou Seal.
Anon 10:40--have to disagree with your statement---information that I have heard states that of the 10,000 or so A's season tix holders that less than 2000 of those are from the city of Oakland itself--actually figures may be slightly different but they are directionally correct--
As a long time season ticket holder and Oakland resident who sees my neighbors at games, I am swayed by the observation that it's the rest of the East Bay market that fails to attend...for whatever reason.
As for the shirts, I am suprised no one in the A's braintrust hasn't thought of this first: if you're leaving town, then print LOTS of Oakland tagged jerseys and T-shirts. They will sell. Just ask someone wearing a faux antique Brooklyn Dodgers jersey.
But a management that denigrates it's product, heritage, and current home (from which it still derives a profit) can't have that much imagination.
while the discussion is tshirts may i recomend this
http://www.oaklandish.com/shop/oaklandish-baseball-p-517.html
its a good message and the money goes to North/South Oakland Little Leagues.
Anon 9:08
"People will come if a nice new park is built in a good area that accommodates what people want, and need. In Oakland."
Why is it okay for you to say the Coliseum is crap, but not okay for Wolff to say it?
Anon 11:42
Oooh I get it, the problem facing the A's is everyone elses fault, not the City of Oakland, nor its residents. Classic, simply classic.
At the risk of turning this into another stupid pissing match...
The real number of season ticket holders from Oakland is 8% of the team's season ticket base (as of 2007). Marine Layer has the numbers for all areas of the Bay in a post from long ago. The fan base is fairly evenly spread out within the 21 mile halo with small portions coming from outlying areas like 10% coming from Santa Clara County
As one of those "suburbanites" who goes to games in Oakland, I can say though I no longer own season tickets (I used to have a 20 game package until 2006) I still go to the same amount of games. The only time I amke a trip to San Francisco to watch baseball is when my A's are playing there.
There are a multitude of reasons for my decision not to renew or rebuy since 2006, none of which involve either of the two stereotypical cries of the Oakland or San jose partisans (crime around the stadium or the owners trashing the place).
A new stadium in a different part of Oakland (near other things to do before and after the game) or at the proposed site in San Jose would entice me to purchase season tickets and even a PSL. I'd have to understand the Oakland plan and location before I said 100% I would.
...prior to the destruction I mean renovation of the Coliseum for the Raiders, and prior to the construction of PacBell/SBC/ATT Park, the Coliseum was considered perhaps one of the jewels of baseball. Flowers and grass beyond the outfield fence, an excellent view of the Oakland hills. So, Oakland once had an ideal ballpark (relative to other ballparks at the time) and the fan support was not there. Enough of this "build a great ballpark and the fans in Oakland will come" business. While I would drive very quickly to a new ballpark in Oakland, I fear that I would be pretty lonely in the place.
Sometimes, a new ballpark or arena is not enough to build fan support. The aforementioned Devils built a brand new shining arena that opened up two seasons ago. This led to a sellout streak of - drumroll please - 1 game. They sold out the first game and attendance dropped back to the usual dismal levels - new arena and all - for the next game.
FC:
I didn't mean to suggest "the problem facing the A's is everyone else's fault." But you will interpret that any way you like.
My point is, when a product isnt selling, do you usually blame the consumer? Or do you blame the product and its management?
To say that A's management hasn't any responsibility for the team's plight on and off the field is delusional.
FC, just to set you straight I never in my comment said the Coliseum is crap, so your just putting words out that I didn't even say. I also didn't say a thing about Lew Wolf, so I dont know why your making arguments up?
Delusional it seems.
Anon,
Delusional is thinking a city can support a MLB team when history shows that it can't.
So that we're clear, just how do you feel about the Coliseum, and Wolff's comments? As for me, the Coliseum is okay, if you're looking for a place to play a game of baseball. But as a place where fans want to come and spend money to see a game of baseball, it sucks big time. Wolff was wrong to come out and say what he did, but what he said was the truth.
"My point is, when a product isnt selling, do you usually blame the consumer? Or do you blame the product and its management?"
Maybe the reason why the product isn't selling is because your business is not in the right location.
Step out of your pro Oakland shoes for a second, and pretend the A's were a retail outlet, not a pro baseball team. Don't you think a business consultant would say you need to move this store to a more attractive location. One which could support the goods and services being offered, and the prices you charge? Or do you think the consultant would recommend that you build a new store in the same part of town, and hope that improves business.
Fisher and Wolff want to move the team not because they hate Oakland, but they see San Jose as a better location, one which will put the team on a more solid financial footing. And if that translates to more on field success, I'm all for it.
As a lifelong Oakland resident and a die hard fan, I want nothing more than the A's to stay in Oakland regardless of what anyone says. But on the other hand I completely see and agree 100% with some of what FC just stated above. It is like a business decision on location location location. Yes I'm sure the A's among many things in life can do well in San Jose, but that does NOT mean that everything will be better off down there than in Oakland. We just need to find the "right" location (which is seems Oakland is doing behind close doors) and paint a beautiful picture.
I still believe and see great things happening in the city (Oakland) each and every day where a new ballpark in the downtown/JLS area would do wonders. I think Lew Wolff and Fisher can see all the potential that area is developing into. With the right transportation, parking etc., there's no reason why the A's can't do well in Oakland.
Yes the Coliseum area sucks for baseball, I agree 100%. It has for many years and probably will continue for many more years to come. For 8-10 games a year for football it's totally fine, but not for 81 baseball games a year. Now you take downtown Oakland/JLS and we're talking about a totally different area with a totally different game plan. Way way more potential for growth in that area!
Over the next 5+ years, that area will be totally awesome for a new ballpark. Beautiful weather, brand new condos, easy BART/Amtrak, the newly developed Lake Merritt area, the largest Farmer's Market on the West Coast and of course the up and coming Uptown District. I don't think Lew Wolff and Co. will have any problem seeing how great things can be for the A's in Downtown Oakland. And it looks as though the stadium committee and even Bud Selig are starting to listen and see what Oakland is presenting to them.
If anyone is interested, the Economic Impact Report for San Jose is up on the SJ Redevelopment Agency webpage.
I am sure there will be a post dissecting it on here soon.
Oakland gear sells really well in Oakland. I wouldn't read too much into the meaning of it. Just about any t-shirt that is halfway creative and shows Oakland some love has been a success. For example, "I Hella Love Oakland," "The Town," "The port cranes dreaming of AT-ATs, etc. That said, Oaklandish's "Keep the A's in Oakland" shirt is really fresh and as linusalf points out, is for a good cause.
I dont think they got the green color right on the retro shirts.
I wouldn't read much into these oklnd shirts. As dbackman said, Oakland related shirts sell really well in Oakland for whatever reason. These new oklnd shirts were made to capitalize on this trend.
Linusalf, thanks for pointing out the new Oaklandish shirt. I have bought a few Oakland related shirts myself. Including one with a red star and OAKLAND over it.
The A's attendance will improve with any new ballpark. I venture it would improve more in Oakland, which is much more central than San Jose and easier to get to for almost everyone.
Would they make more money? Probably not. Would they make enough to compete? Of course.
The major difference between the two options is that one throws away a loyal fanbase (The A's have at least one million die-hard fans, 50% of whom won't be traveling down to SJ) and the other doesn't!
Paul...agree...but than again the commish is none other than Bud...who from my perspective is about as weak as they come. This issue should have been taken care of 10 years ago--but Bud can't make a decision---remind me again what the punishment was for the Gints for knowingly allowing Bond's to use steriods? Bud promised a consequence for the team...never happened.
I can't speak for the rest of the "East Bay" but the A's draw heavily from the city of Alameda. You can hear noise from night games at the Coliseum from the far east end neighborhoods of the island and Alameda little league has produced its share of MLB players who grew up going to the Coliseum (Jimmy Rollins, Dontrelle Willis, Joe Nelson).
The argument that a new ballpark in Oakland will be easier to get to goes out the window when BART and Bullet Train are both going to stop AT the proposed SJ stadium. Not a few blocks from, not separated by tracks, not by elevated walkway going over a polluted ditch and Western Colloid, but right smack dab right in front of the main gates.
The proposed SJ ballpark will be a major hub of California land-based travel over the next century and beyond.
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