After Country Music Detour, Giles Is Now Instrumental in A's Ballpark Quest

As the A's Chief Operating Officer, Chris Giles' thoughts and energies are wired into the business world, helping the team plan for a new ballpark and brainstorming all ways possible to bring in more revenue.

From talking to him, you wouldn't guess that Giles once walked away from the white-collar sports management world to pursue a country music career.

Giles left a vice president position with the 49ers in November 2015, picking up an acoustic guitar, writing and recording a three-song EP, "Party Me", that he performed at club shows all around Northern California.

He still performs once or twice a month on the weekend. It's quite a contrast from his Monday-thru-Friday gig, but that's exactly the point. In the lyrics to the song "Party Me", Giles addresses the ambition and drive required in the 9-to-5 world and the reward of blowing off steam with buddies afterward.

"It's a hobby, I'll always do it," Giles shares in the latest edition of The A's Insider Podcast. "I still play once or twice a month locally, small acoustic stuff."

Giles grew up in Clovis and sang in talent shows as a kid before becoming a high school wrestler.

"Randy Travis was my favorite as a kid," he said. "I can remember writing his lyrics on construction paper and giving it to girls on the playground."

Giles' career in sales and marketing eventually led him to the 49ers, where he became VP of sales and strategy and played an instrumental role in the opening of Levi's Stadium. He oversaw premium sales, seat license sales, concessions and retail among other responsibilities.

But he never lost his desire to pursue a music career.

"It was one of those things where I felt like if I didn't give it a try, then I would always just regret it," said Giles, who is married with three kids. "I enjoy writing songs, I love playing live. I was running around with a couple other artists, we were collaborating on a couple things. It just seemed like a logical point to give it a go."

He eventually returned to the sports world with the NFL, running sales and marketing efforts for Super Bowl LI. But it's his experience with the launch of Levi's Stadium that appears to make him an especially good fit with the A's, who plan to announce by the end of the calendar year a location in Oakland to build a new ballpark.

Opening a new stadium is one thing. Finding ways to maximize revenue from that venue is another, and that's where Giles' expertise factors in. He's got an instrumental voice in how the ballpark will be designed and what features it will include.

He came aboard in an advisory role for A's president Dave Kaval in March and was named the team's COO in early July. Joining the franchise at this point, with so many ambitious plans for the future, is energizing to him.

"I think we're approaching a rocket ship that's sitting on the ground," Giles said. "We're not quite sure which rocket boosters work, but we know we've got a rocket ship. Our job is to make sure we tune that thing up and get it ready to go."

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