WEST SACRAMENTO.- The Athletics of the MLB will leave Oakland at the end of this season to temporarily play at a minor league park near Sacramento until construction of a new stadium in Las Vegas.
The A’s plans to move to the home of the Sacramento River Cats between 2025 and 2027 were announced Thursday after the failure of their negotiations to extend their lease with the city of Oakland during that period.
Vivek Randivé, owner of the Sacramento Kings in the NBA and the River Cats, said the region has the potential to become a “sports mecca.”
“We have an incredible community and a passionate fan base, the best in the world,” Ranadivé emphasized. “Today’s announcement marks the next chapter of professional sports in Sacramento.”
Ranadivé joined A’s owner John Fisher and local officials to deliver the news at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, where the team will play. The stadium is located in front of the historic Tower Bridge, a yellow structure that connects the city with downtown Sacramento.
It’s an area where restaurants, bars and apartment complexes have opened in recent years, about a mile from the statehouse and the NBA arena where the Sacramento Kings play. The stadium has 10,624 fixed seats, although it can even accommodate 14,014 spectators, in fields and standing spaces.
Radivé is confident that this is a step toward eventually making the Sacramento region a permanent home to a major league team.
“We explored several locations for a temporary home, including the Oakland Coliseum,” owner John Fisher said in a statement. “Despite a long relationship and the good intentions of all parties in the negotiations with Oakland, the conditions for reaching an agreement were out of reach. We understand the disappointment this news brings to our fans as this season marks our last in Oakland. During this season, we will pay tribute and celebrate our time in Oakland, and we will provide more details shortly.”
MLB approved the move without buts:
The A’s announced the decision to relocate to Las Vegas in April last year, a move that the owners of the other 29 Major League teams approved unanimously in November.
The decision outraged fans in Oakland, and attendance at the aging Coliseum — already poor — declined further. Only 832,352 fans attended games in 2023, the fewest in the Major Leagues. The A’s drew just 13,522 on opening night this year, with a few thousand protesting Fisher in the parking lot. They did not reach 7,000 fans in any of the next six games.
It is very likely that the stadium will have to renovate its clubhouses, batter’s boxes and other facilities to host a Major League team. The players’ union indicated in a statement that it has maintained “preliminary contacts” with MLB “on a range of issues” related to the temporary move.
The team will be known only as the A’s or A’s, without a city designation during its time in Sacramento.
“I am excited to welcome the A’s to Sutter Health Park, where players and fans will be able to enjoy a world-class experience and make lasting memories,” said Kings owner and River Cats owner Vivek Ranadivé.
The River Cats will remain in their stadium for the next three years and will share it with the A’s.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred thanked the Kings and Sacramento officials for facilitating an agreement.
By remaining in Northern California, the A’s hope to retain a good portion of their broadcast rights in the hands of NBC Sports California. It is said that they have an annual value of 67 million dollars.
Source: AP
