When the A’s announced today that their April 17 home game against the White Sox will have free admission, it sounded like a cool idea but also popped this question in my mind: Would the stadium even be filled for this game?

Columnist Ray Ratto (link above in tweet) shared those exact thoughts.

The idea of a free game is great as it really allows all those people who may never have considered going to a game an incentive to go to a game without the cost of paying for a ticket. I don’t know how the logistics are for parking or concessions, but I will assume that prices for those will remain.

But still, a free game is a pretty nifty novelty. And it would leave people to believe that the stadium will be full for the game since the cost of entry is free. However, it could reveal that the fans or the city don’t have enough people to show up to a free game.

This could be troubling for an organization that desires to build a new stadium in the city. Also, it will lead to many different speculations as to why the stadium isn’t filled — especially for a season that is only a few weeks old.

Do people not care enough? Is the team unappealing? Is the stadium too old?

There are a lot of factors. This might be the A’s trying to find out those answers by doing this promotion.