The Oakland Athletics drew a decent crowd to O.co Coliseum — some 36,000-plus — and the result was sewage backups in the clubhouses, forcing both teams out and causing thousands of dollars in damage.
Now, you’re thinking: hey, the Oakland Raiders regularly draw much larger crowds during the NFL season. But, as anyone else who has dealt with clogged pipes can tell you, it’s a random occurrence, to a great extent. The larger-than-normal crowd certainly put some pressure on the system, to be sure. But it easily could have happened during any number of events at the old facility.
By all accounts, it was a nasty affair. The entire clubhouse level was flooded with backup-up sewage. Susan Slusser used the occasion to argue for the need for a new A’s ballpark, as opposed to just needing a long visit from Roto-Rooter. The Oakland Tribune’s Carl Steward made a similar argument for a new ballpark via Twitter.
In the end, it was a nasty event. But it won’t do anything to further discussions of a new ballpark in Oakland or San Jose: you don’t spent $600 million on a new ballpark to avoid $30,000 in carpeting and plumbing charges.
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