A’s end season ticket program, announce ‘A’s Access’ membership alternative for 2019

Effective for the 2019 season, the Oakland A’s will no longer offer season tickets, the team announced Monday.

In lieu, there will be a new season-long membership program called A’s Access, which grants all members general admission access to every home game, with a tiered number of allotted reserved-seat games. Members can then pay an additional fee should they want an extra reserved seat game.

“To better meet the evolving needs of our fans, we are changing our approach to membership,” said A’s COO Chris Giles. “This flexible model is designed to serve both fans who want a more traditional reserved seat plan and those who desire a more flexible and social experience.”

Other membership benefits will include 50 percent off concessions, 25 percent off merchandise, and discounted parking passes (and yes, that means $4 20-ounce beers). Members will be able to share these benefits virtually with a registered “share partner.”

The cheapest plan starts at $240, and in addition to entrance to every home game, includes upgrades to reserved view-level tickets for 10 games. Upgrades will be made available four hours before game time, and the price of the membership depends on the number of desired upgrades. Oh, you also get $10 parking at a minimum, which gets cheaper as the number of reserved games increases.

For games where a member opts not to reserve a seat, he or she can either watch from one of the ~2,000 seats that will be reserved for GA, or watch from a “social space” like The Treehouse or Shibe Park Tavern.

“A’s Access is the first program of its kind. From access to every game to special member concessions pricing, we’re focused on maximizing the value proposition for members. We are inviting our fans to truly become members of the A’s,” said Giles.

The team is yet to announce the pricing tiers, but Giles noted in a Reddit AMA Monday that the options will reflect those that were available to 2018 season ticket members. The new options will include, but are not limited to, a weekend plan and a half-season plan.

Additionally, unlike with most teams – who charge for all potential playoff tickets up front – A’s Access members will pay round-by-round as the team [hopefully] advances, with the Wild Card Game and Division Series combined – they’re calling this “Pay as We Play.”

How will this impact other ticketing options?

Also available still will be the Treehouse Pass, which is still the cheapest option at $149 for Treehouse access at every home game. However, Treehouse Pass holders will not receive the added perks that Access members will.

In addition to Reddit, Giles took to Twitter and Facebook to answer questions about the program. Many of those questions came from longtime season ticker holders concerned about maintaining their usual seats, to which Giles assured them that they could keep their spots through the Access deal.

Over the past year or so, the organization has proved willing to try out innovative ticketing practices to drive up attendance. In May 2017, the A’s introduced the Ballpark Pass, which for $19.99/month gave subscribers a seat at every home game, with the option to upgrade. They then introduced the aforementioned Treehouse Pass before the 2018 season, and now the A’s Access membership.

A’s Access for the 2019 season goes on sale this Friday, August 3rd, at 9 a.m. Anyone who buys a 2019 pass this season will have first pick of 2018 Pay as We Play postseason tickets, should the team make it.

While there are definitely some details that still need to come to light, let us know what you think of the new deal so far.