Oakland A’s will fill Coliseum stands with cardboard cutouts of fans

We didn’t flatten the curve, so now we have to flatten ourselves.

Oakland A’s fans won’t be able to attend the team’s games when the 2020 MLB season gets started in July, due to local health and safety guidelines to avoid further spread of the coronavirus pandemic. However, they can still be present at the Coliseum.

The A’s announced Tuesday that they will offer fans the chance to put their photo on a cardboard cutout, which will be placed in the stands during games. Pricing varies based on a few factors, and proceeds from the program will go toward local charities.

Here’s how it works. Fans send in a photo of themselves wearing their A’s gear, and the team will add it to a cardboard cutout, authenticate it, and put it in the stands during their games this season. They’ll also add cutouts of former players and other celebrities among the crowd, so that folks can sit next to them. At the end of the year, fans can pick up their cutout to keep as a souvenir.

But the best part: If your cutout gets hit by a foul ball in certain zones of the stadium, then the team will send you the ball.

The A’s aren’t the first baseball team to think of this. Ballparks in Taiwan, Korea, and Japan did it when their seasons started earlier this year, and closer to home the Giants are also offering a similar promotion. Nevertheless, it’s a fun idea and adds an amusing twist to an otherwise awkward summer.

How to buy your own Coliseum Cutout

Cutouts come at a few price points. A’s Access members can get one for $49, and for everyone else they’re $89. In order to be in the Foul Ball Zone, giving you the chance to receive the ball if you get hit, it’ll cost you $129. Proceeds will benefit the Alameda County Community Food Bank, East Oakland Youth Development Center, and Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce.

Coliseum Cutouts are on sale now, and you can click here to purchase your own — the team suggests you order by Sunday (July 5) if you want it to be ready by Opening Day. As a bonus, you’ll get two complimentary tickets to the A’s first home exhibition game during the 2021 season.

Visiting fans can get in on the action, too. A’s team president Dave Kaval said the following on Twitter: “We also have a visiting fan zone. So fans of the [Giants] for instance can buy cutouts. We will be conveniently putting them in the Seagull zone where the birds can perform target practice...”