As the Oakland A’s work to determine where they will play before their new Las Vegas stadium is finished in 2028, endorsements for the team to stay put are still pouring in.
Sacramento is the front-runner to host the Oakland Athletics from 2025 to 2027, according to a February report from The Athletic. While the Northern California city is one of the top options currently on the table, the city’s mayor, Darrell Steinberg, doesn’t think it’s the A’s best choice.
“It’s important for me to express my sincere hope that the A’s remain in Oakland,” Steinberg said via Jake Gadon of CBS Sacramento. “I have been consistent in my support for this from the very beginning. However, I believe that Sacramento has so much to offer and would be a fantastic temporary landing spot for the A’s. Our city and region have a rich history in baseball and a deep love for sports. Sacramento would wholeheartedly welcome Major League Baseball, as we have shown with the Sacramento Kings. Second to Oakland, Sacramento is the best choice.”
It says a lot that even one of Oakland’s competitors thinks the team is better off staying where it is.
If the A’s decided to make the temporary move to the Sacramento area, they would play at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento. It’s home to the River Cats, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.
At this point, it’s still unclear what the A’s will do. The team met with Oakland and Alameda County officials on Tuesday to reportedly discuss a possible lease extension to cover the three years between the conclusion of the A’s lease with the Oakland Coliseum at the end of 2024 and opening of their stadium in 2028. In fact, the extension would reportedly be for five years with an opt out after three, just in case the stadium isn’t completed on time.
Alameda County supervisor David Haubert didn’t confirm any specific details about the meeting, but said it was generally positive.
“We had a productive meeting,” he said via the San Francisco Chronicle. He mentioned an abundance of “moving parts,” citing the importance of the A’s selling their share of the Coliseum in order to receive consideration for the lease extension.
Haubert also expressed optimism about a potential “path forward,” but the A’s statement didn’t align.
“We appreciate Oakland’s engagement and also we are far apart on the terms needed to agree on an extension,” the team said, according to Casey Pratt of ABC 7.
Oakland’s offer to the A’s was “fair and reasonable,” per city mayor Sheng Thao’ statement.
“We await their response and look forward to continuing discussions as necessary,” he added.
The main sticking point in the proposal is reportedly money. The city is requiring the A’s pay a $97 million nonrefundable extension fee to remain in their current home until their new home is completed. The A’s, owned by multi-billionaire John Fisher, currently pay just $1.5 million.
Maybe Sacramento can offer a better deal, as the city and the A’s are reportedly set to meet Wednesday about using using Sutter Health Park in the interim.
