Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher announces on Thursday, April 4, 2024, that the A's will temporarily relocate to West Sacramento in 2025 and play at Sutter Health Park for at least three seasons before the team moves to Las Vegas. (Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee/TNS)
The Oakland A’s ripped the Band-Aid off on Thursday, when they officially announced that this year would be the team’s 56th and final season at the Coliseum.
Starting next season, the A’s will be playing at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento.
Here’s what we know – and what we don’t know – about what’s next for the club:
Why didn’t the A’s get a lease extension at the Coliseum? Alameda County Supervisor David Haubert came out of Tuesday’s meeting between the A’s and the City of Oakland feeling “hopeful” that a deal could come together, but noted that the two sides were very apart. The A’s wanted to pay $17 million on a two-year extension while the city wanted $97 million on a five-year extension, plus a handful of stipulations that included the A’s selling their half of the Coliseum property.
Oakland officials continued to demand exclusive negotiating rights with MLB about an expansion team, which MLB was never in position to provide.
The terms of the Sacramento agreement: The A’s signed a three-year lease to play from 2025 through ‘27, with a fourth year option in case their new ballpark in Las Vegas isn’t ready on time.
Remarkably, the A’s will pay nothing in rent, instead offering to pay for upgrades to the batting cages, weight rooms, field, seating and advertising – at least that’s what president Dave Kaval promised; historically, his promises hit about as often as a slot machine at the Tropicana.
The players don’t sound happy: There’s one group that could put a stop to the A’s move to Sacramento, and that’s the Major League Baseball Players’ Association. The MLBPA must sign off on a temporary home and putting big leaguers into a minor league ballpark with minor league facilities isn’t exactly a sweet deal for them.
The MLBPA is currently reviewing the situation and will need to make recommendations based on which parts of Sutter Health Park are in need of upgrades.
A’s first baseman Ryan Noda shared a laundry list of concerns, noting that the field needs “a lot of money put into it in order for it to be a big league place.”
The A’s aren’t known for putting money into anything, so even if the MLBPA does sign off on the move, don’t be surprised if big leaguers spend much of 2025 complaining about their minor league experience.
What about attendance? Sutter Health Park, a 25-year-old stadium, claims it can hold 14,000 with one of the largest minor league seating capacities out there, though about a quarter of the people will be standing or sitting on the grassy areas in the outfield.
The A’s averaged fewer than 7,000 on their first homestand of the season, and that included an Opening Day game and a series against a popular team in the Boston Red Sox.
After spending the last two years picking fights with their fanbase in Oakland while paying their players less money while winning fewer games than any other MLB team, the A’s might draw more fans to the park in Sacramento.
What did A’s owner John Fisher have to say about the move? That he’s looking forward to watching Yankees slugger Aaron Judge hitting home runs against his team, among other comments he made without taking any questions on Thursday.
What will the new team be called? The A’s will keep their name, but will no longer use a city. All of their jerseys will say “Athletics.”
What will happen to the broadcasts? NBC Sports California will continue to broadcast A’s games, though it’s uncertain which broadcasters will stick with the team when they move to Sacramento. Color analyst Dallas Braden shared some thoughts on social media on Friday, noting that he wasn’t sure if he’d stick with the team after this season while calling Thursday “one of the toughest days of my life.”
The A’s will renegotiate their deal with NBC Sports and expect to lose some of the $67 million in annual broadcasting fees, which, according to former Miami Marlins president David Samson, could infuriate other MLB owners who must continue funding the A’s through revenue sharing avenues.
Is expansion in Oakland still possible? It’s possible, though currently unlikely, largely because there has yet to be a local ownership group to speak up. Meanwhile, ownership groups in Nashville, Charlotte, Salt Lake City, Portland and now Sacramento have vocalized their support, while Nashville has already secured land for a ballpark and is seen as the most likely city to get an expansion team.
How did Sacramento become a possibility? Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé told reporters in Sacramento on Thursday that he’s been in touch with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, who assured him MLB “will be creating a new team, they want it to be on the West Coast and they’d love for it to be in California.”
Sacramento is the 20th-ranked media market in the country while the Bay Area ranks 10th and Las Vegas ranks 40th.
What’s next for the Coliseum?
The Oakland Roots and Soul soccer teams have already received approval from the Coliseum Authority to play their home games at the Coliseum next year, but those deals have not yet been finalized.
The A’s are looking to sell their half of the property and continue to negotiate with the African-American Sports and Entertainment Group, which intends to redevelop the site.
What’s happening to A’s employees?
Kaval told ABC7 that there will be layoffs at the end of the season and suggested there could be severance packages.
“We want to treat people appropriately and in the right way,” he said.
Is Las Vegas a done deal?
Circle April 9 on the calendar.
Schools Over Stadiums, the political action group formed by a teachers’ union in Nevada, has an afternoon court date to finalize the wording on their petition to stop at least part of the $380 million in public funding from going towards the A’s new ballpark. Schools Over Stadiums spokesman Alex Marks believes the organization has raised enough money and signed up enough volunteers to collect signatures in time to get a referendum on the ballot in November.
Separately, the organization filed a lawsuit claiming Senate Bill 1, which will distribute the funding to the A’s, is unconstitutional because it was not passed with a supermajority.
Originally published at Jason Mastrodonato