At last, 3rd-deck tarps are coming off
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — New A’s President Dave Kaval continues to make moves popular with the fans, and on Tuesday, he took action on a long-standing complaint.
Kaval announced on Facebook Live that the team was in the process of removing the third-deck tarps at the Coliseum.
“Because the fans have spoken, the tarps are coming off!” he said Tuesady via video while uncovering a row of seats. “You can see right here, the tarps are coming off one at a time. I’m going to be busy all day doing this. I’ll have my team on it.”
Kaval said that tickets in the third deck will be $15 for the remainder of the season, and on the next homestand, half
the proceeds will go to Oakland Promise, which helps Oakland students attend college. On Twitter, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf applauded the team’s involvement with the program.
The decision will increase capacity by 12,103 to 47,170; the decision affects only the original Coliseum third deck, so the tarps covering Mount Davis will remain.
The tarps went up in 2006 in what club officials said was an effort to improve the visuals after years of sparse crowds. Fans have lobbied for the tarps’ removal ever since then, going so far as to petition former owner Lew Wolff during the 2012 playoffs, when games were sold out, but the team refused to add seats by removing the tarps.
The reaction to Kaval’s announcement was almost entirely positive.
“Thank you Dave, we’ve been asking for years and finally we get to show off our entire home!” @louisthree tweeted on the A’s official Twitter feed. “Can’t wait to purposely sit up there!”
Kaval also has acted on fan suggestions to move the team’s FanFest to Jack London Square and to name the playing surface of the Coliseum after Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson. Other well-received moves include adding food trucks to the plaza between the Coliseum and Oracle Arena, upgrading concessions, lowering beer prices and adding numerous beer varieties to the new Shibe Park Tavern.