Oakland Athletics announce new parking tariffs on Giants fans

Tag Archive: Baseball, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants

Category Archive: Sports

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Ah, yes. Baseball is almost here, which means the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants will be playing their annual spring finale here in the Bay Area starting on Sunday in Oakland. What wasn’t expected was an increase to parking prices, which the club announced on Saturday. See if you can pick out where Giants fans may be a little upset.

Giants fans on social media (and some of the media people that cover the team) have been either gently poking fun at the A’s for this stunt, or flat-out in an uproar over price discrimination. For a group of fans that likes to claim that the A’s “don’t have any money, lolz” it seems an odd thing to take issue with, given their overflowing bank accounts and adoration for avocado toast.

This is really just a poke at the bear, which is in the spirit of fun. The press release says that parking will be $30 for A’s fans, or $50 for Giants fans. Orange and black supporters can pay the A’s fan price by simply saying “Go A’s.” As I stated on social media, if you refuse to say those two words for $20 off, then you’re a stubborn asshole and I’m glad you’re paying $50.

That is, if this is all more than a PR stunt.

Some fans on Twitter were asking the reporters if the A’s could theoretically get sued for price discrimination. The press release would certainly indicate a form of this, and it’s hard to imagine that the front office would actually impose this charge. Instead, it’s likely an attempt to drum up the ole rivalry once more. The backlash could be that fewer fans actually show up to the game now because of the announced price increase (they could always just take Bart), and that will hurt their food, beverage and merchandise sales, which is likely where the team makes a little more profit anyway.

By comparison, the Giants regularly charge $40 for their parking services, which essentially consists of parking in a dimly lit abandoned warehouse. At least at the Coliseum fans are allowed to tailgate, or as the kids say “pre-game” prior to the contest, adding value to their parking price.

The part of the announcement that is being swept under the rug a bit (which could be another reason why the Giants bit was added in) is that the Oakland Athletics have upped their parking prices by ten dollars, going from $20 to $30.

After tomorrow’s game, my money is on that price increase being the real headline.

That last tweet was apropos of nothing but should still be shared.