Oakland Faces a ‘Devastating’ Future Without Pro Sports
OAKLAND, Calif. — Sitting in the Oakland Athletics’ dugout last week, Tony Kemp could not avoid the sights and sounds of protesters as they marched across the stadium in green T-shirts with the words “Sell The Team” emblazoned on the front, holding signs that lamented the team’s likely fate.
The rest of the fans, what few there were, joined the protesters’ chants urging John Fisher, the owner of the A’s, to relinquish his hold on the club. They also yelled in rhythmic unison for the team to, “Stay in Oakland,” and “Save their jobs,” referring to friendly ushers and security guards, sympathetic to their cause.
“It’s tough,” said Kemp, who is in his fourth season in Oakland. “You are in the dugout and you just feel for them. You think about generationally, people raising their family here and wanting to take their kids to A’s games because they were brought to A’s games as kids. It’s very hard.”
Kemp, like most of the Athletics’ players, empathize with the fans, but “hard” does not adequately reflect their plight. The team announced last month that it had reached a deal to purchase land in Nevada for a new stadium and planned to move to the Las Vegas Strip by the 2027 season. It was a crushing blow to the loyal fans, some of whom have cherished the A’s since they moved to Oakland, Calif., in 1968.
Source: The New York Times
