Oakland Athletics Announce Temporary Move To Sacramento

The Oakland Athletics announced on Thursday that they will be moving to Sutter Health Park, the AAA minor league stadium of the Sacramento River Cats, for the 2025, 2026, and 2027 MLB seasons while a stadium for them is built in Las Vegas, officially making the 2024 season the last for the team in Oakland.

For over 20 years, the Athletics attempted to build a new stadium to replace the outdated Oakland Coliseum. Multiple attempts failed, including new stadium bids in San Jose and Fremont, as well as in Oakland in Jack London Square, the current Coliseum site area, and, most recently, at Howard Terminal.

However, all would eventually fall through by 2022. Last year, the team announced that they would be moving to Las Vegas sometime between 2025 and 2029.

2023 and early 2024 proved to be hectic. Athletics owner John Fisher was pressured to sell the team to a local group by fans, with fans protesting him vehemently at games. Attendance at games, already low, plummeted to near record low figures. Some games only brought in a few thousand fans. In Las Vegas, a new stadium location bounced around the city until it was decided that it would be on the spot of the Tropicana Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The Casino itself closed down on Tuesday, with demolition expected later next year. By the beginning of the 2024 season, moving to Las Vegas was a done deal, with the only remaining question being how long that the Athletics would stay in Oakland, as a final lease hung over the team.

Both Oakland officials and Athletics officials met on Tuesday. Oakland, now facing the possibility of losing the team sooner than expected countered with an offer, upping the current $1.25 million a year lease amount to a five year contract with three year opt out clause for a total of $97 million. In addition, the team would have to either leave behind the team name, colors and branding when they move, get MLB assurances of the city getting an expansion team, or the A’s selling the team to a local owner. Oakland Chief of Staff Leigh Hanson has said that the $97 million “extension fee” charged would help Oakland’s current $170 million general fund deficit.

However, these terms were severely challenged, especially when, on opening day, the Athletics only drew 13,000 fans on opening day out of a stadium that could facilitate nearly 4 times that, with nearly as many outside the stadium holding a protest. Armed with this, the Athletics countered with a 2 year, $17 million lease agreement. The two sides also quickly ended the meeting, as they were far apart on what an agreement.

Undeterred, team officials went to visit Sacramento officials on Wednesday, hoping to reach an agreement over the use of Sutter Health Park in Sacramento. While seating only 10,600 fans, with another 4,000 being able to sit on the lawn area, the stadium comfortably fits AAA Sacramento River Cats fans during home games. The capacity is also over the average amount that the Oakland Athletics currently draw at the Coliseum.

On Thursday morning, an agreement was reached. Oakland A’s President Dave Kaval phones Oakland Chief of Staff Leigh Hanson early on to inform them of the decision, with Fisher doing the same to Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao. Only a few hours later, Fisher gave a brief press conference at Sutter Health Park, reading a short statement to the media.

Sutter Health Park will welcome the Oakland A’s for three MLB seasons starting in 2025.https://t.co/wfgKzKSwdn pic.twitter.com/eTmncKEwEp

— Sacramento River Cats (@RiverCats) April 4, 2024

“I just want to say we’re excited to be here for the next three years,” said Fisher, standing alongside Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé. “Playing in this beautiful ballpark but also to be able to watch some of the greatest players in baseball, whether they be Athletics players or Aaron Judge and others launch home runs out of this very intimate, most intimate ballpark in major league baseball next three years.

“We explored several locations for a temporary home, including the Oakland Coliseum. Even with the long-standing relationship and good intentions on all sides in the negotiations with Oakland, the conditions to achieve an agreement seemed out of reach. We understand the disappointment this news brings to our fans, as this season marks our final one in Oakland. Throughout this season, we will honor and celebrate our time in Oakland, and will share additional details soon.

“We extend our appreciation to the Kings and the City of West Sacramento, and look forward to making Sutter Health Park our home until our new ballpark opens in Las Vegas.”

As of Thursday evening, full details of the plan were not released beyond the lease lasting until 2027, with an option for 2028 should the Las Vegas stadium construction go behind schedule. While it is also known that both the Athletics and River Cats will share the stadium over the next several years, the cost of the lease was not announced. Other questions still remain, such as if there will be significant temporary expansion in the number of new seats to the ballpark, as well as how much the temporary move will cost taxpayers in the city.

While many Athletics fans in the East Bay were outraged at the decision, many others took a more muted response, as a move had been expected for years by this point. Fans in Sacramento were more mixed, ranging from refusing to wanting to support the A’s for leaving Oakland to wanting to show off both Sacramento and the stadium to the MLB. Oakland Mayor Thao gave an especially low-key response to the move on Twitter, messaging that “Oakland offered a deal that was fair to the A’s and was fiscally responsible for our city. We wish the A’s the best and will continue our conversations with them on facilitating the sale of their share of the Coliseum site. The City of Oakland will now focus on advancing redevelopment efforts at the Coliseum.”

Oakland offered a deal that was fair to the A’s and was fiscally responsible for our city. We wish the A’s the best and will continue our conversations with them on facilitating the sale of their share of the Coliseum site. The City of Oakland will now focus on advancing… pic.twitter.com/350wUgSKmA

— Mayor Sheng Thao 盛桃 (@MayorShengThao) April 4, 2024

Bay Area political advisor Jackie Avery added to the Globe that “Thao is trying to come across as diplomatic now following this, but you can tell she knows that she already lost her next election because of this. They are going to desperately try and do something with the Coliseum to save face, maybe bring in some minor league teams, but she lost the city it’s last major league team and she knows it. You don’t come back from losing a team, especially when you were giving lousy deals to them.

“For Sacramento, while it is exciting, you know, the details of the move haven’t been announced. Just how much will this be costing people there, and what changes are going to be made to the stadium beforehand? For Oakland officials this is a career killer, and officials around Sacramento need to keep an eye on this too or else they may be facing a similar situation for doing everything for a team that will only be leaving in a few years time.”

More on the Sacramento stadium deal is to come out soon.