The Athletics announced Thursday, in partnership with Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, that they temporarily will play at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento from 2025 through at least 2027 after their Oakland Coliseum lease expires following the current 2024 MLB season.
The agreement to allow the A's to play at Sutter Health Park includes an option for a fourth year in case their proposed Las Vegas ballpark isn't ready by the 2028 MLB season.
Two hours after the news was announced, Ranadive, A's owner John Fisher and local Sacramento officials spoke during a press conference at Sutter Health Park, the current home of the Triple-A River Cats, an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.
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"I just want to say how excited I am to be here in West Sacramento in Sutter Health Park, celebrating a momentous day for this community and a momentous day for our 123-year-old franchise," Fisher said. "I want to extend my thanks to Vivek, who's not only a good friend but a great business person, great associate and for helping make this day possible. To you and your team at the Kings and the River Cats, working with you guys has been a dream for, for our guys as well."
The news of the A's temporarily playing games in Sacramento comes after the team met several times over the last few weeks with officials from the city of Oakland and Alameda County to try to work out a Coliseum lease extension. The last meeting between the three parties took place Tuesday, and on Wednesday, team officials met with Sacramento officials to discuss using Sutter Health Park.
Ranadive, who bought the Kings in 2013 and purchased the River Cats in 2022, expressed his commitment to bringing professional sports to Sacramento.
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"John, thank you for this opportunity to be part of the A's legacy and show the world why Sacramento is a destination city for major league sports," Ranadive said. "I also want to thank MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. It's an honor for West Sacramento to host Major League Baseball at Sutter Health Park."
The A's have called the Oakland Coliseum home since 1966, but after the 2024 season, they will play 81 home games at a Triple-A facility, which is expected to receive upgrades to meet MLB standards.
That means MLB stars like New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout and others will descend on Sacramento for the next three seasons.
"We're excited to be here for the next three years playing in this beautiful ballpark, but also being able 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, the most intimate ballpark in all of Major League Baseball for the next three years," Fisher said. "And we're looking forward to this being our home until we move on to our stadium in Las Vegas in 2028."
The A's planned move to Las Vegas still has hurdles to clear, but for now, they know where they will be playing for the next three seasons.
