Tarps will come off for LCS, not LDS (Update: Maybe not)
Update 5:20 PM: Tweets from the Chronicle’s Susan Slusser indicate that the team is still only considering removing the tarps and has not made a decision yet.
Several #Athletics sources say there has been no decision to remove tarps at Coliseum for LCS but they may consider it if sales justify it.
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) October 9, 2012
I know that clashes with another report, but that’s what I’m being told – tarps NOT officially off for LCS; will be considered if necessary.
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) October 9, 2012
I was told flat-out that that other report about tarps “is wrong.” #Athletics
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) October 9, 2012
I do think there has been shift in #Athletics thinking, that is not at all inaccurate. The fact they’re even considering it is a big change.
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) October 9, 2012
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Original post:
Official word came from the A’s today (via BANG) that the much-reviled upper deck tarps will stay put for the rest of the Division Series against the Tigers, due to the time required to remove them. If the A’s are able to mount a difficult yet not impossible three-game home sweep to advance to League Championship Series, the tarps will be removed.
Today at 2 PM, representatives of Let’s Go Oakland/RemoveTheTarps.com went to the A’s business offices and presented a petition containing reportedly several thousand names. The article linked above noted that seats for Tuesday had sold out and a handful remained for Wednesday, even though online lookups last week made it appear as though both games were unavailable. Tickets for a Game 5 in Oakland are still available.
Initially I had asserted that the A’s had kept the tarps on due to a MLB rule about static capacity until the World Series. I couldn’t be more glad to be wrong, and hopefully there’s some reconsideration about the tarps for next year.
Quick scheduling note: the Raiders had a bye over the weekend, and their next game is a road date at undefeated Atlanta. Their next home game isn’t until the following Sunday, October 21, which could create a conflict with a potential ALCS Game 7 against Baltimore. We can only hope that such a conflict becomes a reality. There has been no clarification as to whether all of the tarps would be removed as opposed to just the tarps for the original upper deck, but I figure that as long as that next Raiders home game is in play, might as well take care of all of the tarps instead of having to split the effort.
@ Freddy – I get it, when the A’s were losing the first half of the season and no one showed up, that was LW magic. But when team started winning the second half and still no one showed up, that’s the BB/BM magic. And when 20K bandwagon fans showed up the last 3 games, that’s “Oakland Magic”. Thanks for this new internet meme! I can use it when my lazy, procrastinating coworker takes credit for all of my hard work while sitting on his ass pointing fingers at others, I can readily say that he has “Oakland Magic”….
The logic is: When fans don’t show (which is most of the time), it’s Lew Wolff’s fault and he shouldn’t be rewarded by being able to move to San Jose. When fans DO show (during playoff games), it proves the A’s can draw well in Oakland and don’t need to move to San Jose. But of course, none of this changes the realities that there’s no suitable site for a new ballpark in Oakland, there’s no public money available and it would be unfeasible to finance privately in Oakland, even if there was a site.