A’s to play in Sacramento starting in 2025 before Las Vegas move
As the “Oakland” A’s saga continues, the organization took a huge step forward. The team will be playing in Sacramento starting in 2025. Sutter Health Park, home of the Triple-A team Sacramento River Cats, will be the A’s interim home.
Carmichael Dave of SacTownSports first reported the news late Wednesday night, and the news became official Thursday morning.
The city of Oakland and the A’s had met several times over the past few months to discuss a lease extension on the Oakland Coliseum. The lease ends after the 2024 season, which would’ve left the team homeless until at least 2028.
Cities such as Reno, Las Vegas, and Salt Lake City were all considered, but Oakland made the most sense financially. Staying in the Bay Area meant the A’s would keep their TV money with NBCSCA, which is about $70 million a year.
The city of Oakland stayed firm with their negotiations, offering a five-year lease with increased rent or requiring some sort of guarantee for an expansion franchise.
Oakland even dropped the extension fee price down to $60 million. Owner John Fisher felt that Sacramento was a better deal.
Of course, it helps when you’re good friends with Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé. Fisher got an easy handout from Ranadivé and was able to escape the corner Oakland pushed the A’s into. Without Sacramento’s help, the only plausible solution for Fisher is to either agree with Oakland’s terms or sell the team.
While the team won’t be in the Bay Area, NBCSCA will still allow the A’s to stream their games on the company’s platforms. The team won’t get the $70 million a year they got in Oakland, but it’s expected NBCSCA will give the A’s around $20-$30 million a year.
Despite the announcement, the River Cats have said that they “ aren’t going anywhere. ” How a major and minor league team are going to share a stadium is beyond me. John Shea of the SF Chronicle said that an option is for the River Cats to play some of their home games at Oracle Park and the Coliseum (ironic.)
Since the Las Vegas stadium will supposedly be complete in 2028, the A’s will play in Sacramento from 2025-27. There’s an option for the 2028 season in case Vegas falls through (which it probably will.)
The move also needs to be signed off by MLBPA, and Executive Director Tony Clark admitted a lot of work would need to be done at Sutter Health Park for major league standards.
I just hope Sacramento realizes what they got themselves into. Fisher and Dave Kaval have no idea how to run a business . Ranadivé thinks this will put Sacramento on the list for an expansion team but I don’t see MLB doing that. The A’s will just treat Sacramento like a one-night stand and make the city look worse.
With even less TV money now, there’s no way Fisher invests in the team. Who wants to see three years of low payroll in a Triple-A park? The A’s won’t even have a city attached to their name in Sacramento. They’ll just be known as “A’s” and “Athletics” for three-plus years.
Even though Sac is about an hour drive from Oakland, this officially marks the end of professional sports in Oakland. I doubt any league gives the city an expansion team. First, it was the Warriors, then the Raiders, and now the A’s.
Whoever blames Oakland hasn’t done research. Fisher and the A’s clearly wanted out of Oakland. There could’ve been a stadium in Oakland years ago, but Fisher is simply too cheap. Good luck to Sacramento and potentially Las Vegas, because Fisher and Kaval might be the worst thing to happen to baseball.
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