The team has an “option to play a fourth season" at the Sacramento RiverCats’ Sutter Health Park, which has a capacity of just 14,014Visit Sacramento
The A’s this morning officially announced they will play in Sacramento for at least three seasons beginning next year “at the home of the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate after the A’s lease at the Coliseum expires at the end of this season,” according to Michael Nowels of the San Jose MERCURY NEWS. The team has an “option to play a fourth season" at the Sacramento RiverCats’ Sutter Health Park. The A’s expect to open their new Las Vegas ballpark in 2028 “to complete their relocation there, though they have yet to break ground as construction contracts have not yet been signed.” Team reps visited Sacramento yesterday after having at least two formal meetings in recent weeks. Those talks “were described as productive, but ultimately the negotiations to keep the team in Oakland failed.” A “major complication” for the A’s in leaving Oakland is their TV deal with NBC Sports Bay Area, which reportedly pays $67M annually. Moving to Sacramento “may offer them a chance to keep at least a portion of that” (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 4/4). The A’s "will call themselves the A’s, no city attached," during their time in Sacramento (X, 4/4).
POTENTIAL AUDITION FOR RANADIVE: In S.F., John Shea noted Vivek Ranadive, owner of both the River Cats and NBA Kings, is a “good friend of Fisher and would love to own an MLB team, not just a minor-league team.” By hosting the A’s for three seasons, Ranadive “could be auditioning Sacramento as a future MLB expansion candidate.” Schedules are generally distributed to teams in May for the following season and made public in July. Sutter Health Park has a capacity of just 14,014, and any agreement for the A’s to play in the minor-league facility would “first need to be signed off by the Major League Baseball Players Association.” That includes having the clubhouses, weight rooms, field conditions and all the amenities required at an MLB facility “up to big-league standards” (S.F. CHRONICLE, 4/3). The River Cats, who have played in Sacramento for 25 years, "will continue to play at Sutter Health Park, too" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 4/4).
