The Oakland Athletics will accept — and hold — bitcoin in exchange for full-season suite rentals

The Oakland Athletics baseball team typically rents out its full-season luxury viewing suites for $64,800. But until April 1, the suites will be available for the price of one BTC. 

“We heard from our fans that they’re interested in paying in crypto,” Dave Kaval, president of the team, told Bloomberg on Monday. “So we said, ‘Hey, let’s take one of our products — our suites, put it on sale for one Bitcoin, and see if we get any takers.’” 

Kaval says that while the team had over 100 inquiries regarding the luxury suites and COVID-10 safety procedures, no one has offered to pay in bitcoin. “We have till next Thursday to get people on board,” he said. “I’m hopeful we get two or three.”

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The team plans to hold on to any BTC earned rather than sell it upon receipt. “We’re gonna hold it,” Kaval said. “We’re believers in it.” 

If there is enough interest in paying for the suites with Bitcoin, the team plans to add other forms of crypto as payment options down the line. Kaval said the Oakland A’s are also in support of making NFTs of their players, specific plays, and other aspects related to the team. 

“We’re looking to break some new ground in baseball and sports,” Kaval said. “And that’s really been a great area for us to try new things in Oakland.”

About Author

MK Manoylov has been a reporter for The Block since 2020 — joining just before bitcoin surpassed $20,000 for the first time. Since then, MK has written nearly 1,000 articles for the publication, covering any and all crypto news but with a penchant toward NFT, metaverse, web3 gaming, funding, crime, hack and crypto ecosystem stories. MK holds a graduate degree from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program (SHERP) and has also covered health topics for WebMD and Insider. You can follow MK on X @MManoylov and on LinkedIn.