A’s 2011 Attendance Numbers At A Glance

Despite losing more games in 2011, the Oakland Athletics posted better attendance numbers this year versus the 2010 season. Oakland did, however, rank last in the majors with an attendance of 1,476,792 for the 2011 season. That number is up, though, from 2010’s 1,418,391 home attendance total.

The A’s have been treading water for the past few seasons, with the organization falling deeper and deeper into irrelevancy. Fans of the green-and-gold haven’t had much to smile about these past few years and the low attendance numbers are a reflection of the growing frustration within the A’s fan-base.

General manager Billy Beane and the rest of his brain trust have been handcuffed recently by the team’s pressing stadium situation. The Athletics currently play in an outdated stadium that is far from appealing to big name free agents.

The A’s averaged 18,232 fans per home game this year, but most nights the crowds seemed much smaller. My high school attracted more fans in the bleachers than Oakland did on most nights.

Sometimes if the A’s were down or if the game was moving particularly slow, I would sit and count each and every person in the Coliseum. The attendance, in my mind, was that bad. Then again, why would anyone want to pay to see a team that struggles to remain relevant?

There’s growing frustration with the ownership, and I can understand why some fans would rather stay home than fork over their hard earned cash to an ownership that doesn’t seem sincere.

It’s been long believed that Lew Wolff never wanted to keep the A’s in Oakland when he bought the team in 2005. Many people believe Wolff and the rest of Oakland’s ownership is driving this team to the ground in order to relocate the team. I’m not entirely sure if I believe that myself, but I do know that the A’s need a new venue.

O.co Coliseum is not proper home for any baseball team let alone for a storied franchise like the Athletics. The A’s are pushing hard for a new venue in San Jose, and after three years of waiting, MLB and Commissioner Bud Selig look like they’re getting ready to deliver a stadium decision.

Oakland cannot survive in its current stadium, and with the newest collective-bargaining agreement being dubbed as “a dagger to small-market teams,” the future doesn’t look bright for the A’s if they fail to obtain a new venue.

Whether its in San Jose or in Oakland, I don’t care. I would much rather want to watch my A’s enter back into the realm of relevancy with a new venue rather than have them sink further into the cavernous Coliseum.

What do you think? Are you furious with the ownership, MLB, or Bud Selig over Oakland’s current stadium mess? What do these poor attendance numbers mean to you? Sound off below!