Major League Baseball is officially leaving Oakland at the end of the 2024 season.
The Athletics announced Thursday morning that they will play at Sutter Health Park, home of the San Francisco Giants’ Triple-A affiliate Sacramento RiverCats, from 2025-27. The A’s have an option to play a fourth season at the 14,000-seat stadium while their new home in Las Vegas is being built.
“We look forward to making Sutter Health Park our home through our move to Las Vegas,” A’s owner and managing partner John Fisher said in a statement. “We extend our appreciation to the Kings and the city of West Sacramento for hosting the A’s while we work to complete our new ballpark in Las Vegas.”
Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
Local radio personality Dave Weiglein of Sactown Sports first reported the deal Wednesday night, after the team had scheduled meetings with Oakland and Alameda County officials Tuesday and Sacramento representatives Wednesday.
There reportedly was no indication the A’s informed the city of Oakland of their plans. The parties were facing a tight window. MLB schedules for next season are finalized in May and distributed to teams by July.
“On behalf of all of MLB, I want to express my appreciation to West Sacramento, Sutter Health Park, the Kings and the greater Sacramento region for their excitement to host the A’s for interim play, as the A’s new permanent home is built in Las Vegas,” Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.
After the meeting in Oakland, the team stated the two sides were still “far apart” in negotiations despite the office of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s statement Tuesday night indicating that the city expected further negotiations.
According to ESPN, sources said the city’s bargaining position was based on the strength of the media market, which has earned the A’s a reported $67 million per year from its local television contract with NBC Sports California. A move to Sacramento would require a renegotiation of that contract.
Vivek Ranadivé, a friend of Fisher’s, owns the RiverCats and the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association. Ranadive’s goal is to bring an MLB expansion team to Sacramento and hopes that by temporarily housing the A’s, Manfred will add California’s capital city to the shortlist — or if the deal in Las Vegas falls through, the A’s could permanently relocate.
“Today marks the next chapter of professional sports in Sacramento. The passion of our fans is second to none, and this is an incredible opportunity to showcase one of the most dynamic and vibrant markets in the country,” Ranadivé said in a statement.
The A’s are 1-5 to start the season and drawing an average attendance of 6,438. All six games have been at home. Sutter Health Park has 10,624 permanent seats with berm seating increasing capacity to roughly 14,000.
The A’s will be playing at the home of the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats for the 2025-27 seasons.
On Sunday, the River Cats posted higher attendance than the A’s did in Oakland. pic.twitter.com/ObwTAetvoK
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 4, 2024
Oakland is the franchise’s third home city since the founding of the American League in 1901. The A’s began play in Philadelphia from 1901-54, then moved to Kansas City for 13 seasons before arriving in Oakland.
Any move to a minor league ballpark will have to gain the approval of the Major League Baseball Players Association.
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