“They can tell me who they want to play third base, they can try to sell me insurance, they can ask for a job,” Kaval said. “It’s a great way to have your finger on the pulse of the fan base and get ideas.”

Most fans are not bold enough to ask Kaval to let them into the Coliseum for free. On Tuesday, though, the A’s are doing just that. To mark the 50th anniversary of the franchise’s first game in Oakland, the A’s will offer free admission to their game against the Chicago White Sox. The teams will wear 1968 uniforms, parking will be free, and even the tarps on “Mount Davis” — the distant seats high above the center-field structure built to lure back Al Davis’s Raiders in the 1990s — will be gone.

“We’re expecting an amazing atmosphere,” Kaval said. “It’s going to be a fun showcase of what A’s baseball can be.”

Lew Krausse, who started for the A’s in their inaugural Oakland game, will throw the ceremonial first pitch. The A’s lost to Baltimore in their first home opener, 4-1, and managed just two hits — including Tony La Russa’s only hit in the majors between 1963 and 1970. The team’s fortunes improved quickly: 10 home games later, Catfish Hunter threw a perfect game, and the A’s would win three World Series in a row in the 1970s. Another title followed in 1989, with La Russa as manager.

While the A’s have reached the playoffs eight times in the 2000s, they have always been hindered by low revenues. Previous ownership was blocked from moving south to San Jose, and now the A’s have submitted a proposal to buy the Coliseum site from the city and county for $137 million. If the offer is accepted, the A’s would have more control over their future ballpark site, though Kaval said the team was also reviewing options for a waterfront location.

“These processes in California take a long time,” said Kaval, a former president of the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer, who opened a $100 million, privately financed stadium in 2015. “You need to keep the process and the energy going every day to make sure you’re making progress.”

The A’s have drawn two million fans in a season just once since 2005, while the San Francisco Giants have drawn at least 2.8 million every year since opening their dazzling ballpark in 2000. But the Oakland fans have a feisty spirit that should be on full display Tuesday.