The Oakland Athletics are having a fantastic year that came completely out of nowhere. They're tied for the lead in the top spot in the AL Wild Card race with another miracle team (the Baltimore Orioles), and are half a game ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays in those standings. The A's are even within spitting distance of the AL West title, just 5.5 games back of the Texas Rangers with seven games left against the reigning AL champs.
However, the A's are having problems with attendance, as usual. During the team's last homestand from the 17th to the 22nd of August, the team drew just 104,276, or slightly over 17,000 fans per game, for three games against the Indians and three against the Twins. Their three-game series with the Angels earlier this month drew under 50,000 fans for the entire series, so this isn't just a contender problem.
So, the A's are turning to Groupon in an attempt to sell seats. Half price tickets! $30 field level tickets are going for $15 in this deal. The eligible games are September 3rd against the Angels (Labor Day!), September 15th against the Orioles, and September 29th against the Mariners. It's not as if A's tickets are extremely expensive, either. Tickets on Wednesdays can be purchased for as low as just $2, and for most other games, you can get into the park for around ten bucks. But hey, a field level ticket for $15 bucks? That's a pretty solid deal. Hopefully, it help boost the A's attendance woes, and if the team is playing October baseball, they're not doing it in front of an empty, cavernous stadium. Here's one potential perk for the A's if they do make the playoffs: the Raiders only play one home game in October. Hooray for a non-destroyed field!
More and more sports teams are using Groupon to help boost attendance, including Syracuse football, selling tickets to their game with USC at MetLife Stadium for half off. Is this going to be the new trend for teams that are struggling to fill the house?
[h/t: Ben Koo]
