The end of the Oakland Athletics is officially here.
The 2024 Major League Baseball season will officially be the Athletics’ last in Oakland, the team announced on Monday. The Athletics will play their home games at Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park — the home of the Sacramento River Cats, the San Francisco Giants‘ Triple-A affiliate– for the 2025-2027 Major League Baseball seasons. The move is the official “nail in the coffin” for the city of Oakland’s attempt at keeping the club in their home for the past 57 seasons.
Clearly, the Athletics are no longer “rooted in Oakland.”
Oakland officials made a last-ditch effort —a reported three-year, $60 million lease offer to the club— to keep the team in the Coliseum until their departure for Las Vegas. The latest lease offer was a departure from the city’s most recent offer that was reportedly in the three-year, $97 million range. The approximately 85-mile trek from the Oakland Coliseum to Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento will put an end to the Athletics’ nearly two-decade fight to escape the city of Oakland.
Rest in Peace
1968 – 2024
What Happens After the 2027 Major League Baseball Season?
The Athletics will reportedly have an option to play the 2028 Major League Baseball season in Sacramento if issues arise with the building of their new ballpark in Las Vegas.
The Athletics’ Vegas ballpark will feature 33,000 seats with a view of the New York City (New York, New York) skyline, the MGM Grand, and the Vegas strip. Built on the site of the soon-to-be closed Tropicana Hotel and Casino, construction has not yet begun on the Vegas ballpark. In fact, there are still opposition groups hoping to delay building of the ballpark for the foreseeable future.
In the meantime, the Athletics will have to make nice with their stadium mates in Sacramento.
A Big-League Club Playing in a Minor League Ballpark?
The Athletics’ move to Sacramento will come at a cost for team owner John Fisher.
The Athletics will need to invest additional capital into upgrading the River Cats’ ballpark from Triple-A standards to Major League Baseball standards. This includes: possible renovations to the clubhouses and training rooms, installation of MLB level lighting, MLB level batting cages, and changes to the playing field. Players and the Players’ Association have voiced their displeasure about similar situations in the past, notably when the Toronto Blue Jays were forced to play home games in Buffalo, NY and Dunedin, FL due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sutter Health Park will certainly present a unique situation for the Athletics, the park currently only seats 11,000 fans in the main seating area. There is a grass seating area in the outfield that would allow a capacity of around 14,500-15,000 fans.
Insert A’s attendance jokes here: __________!
As for the River Cats, they’re reportedly staying in SacTown despite the Athletics crashing their home ballpark. The River Cats have played Triple-A baseball in West Sacramento since 2000. They spent 14-seasons as the Athletics’ Triple-A affiliate before becoming the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate prior to the 2015 Pacific Coast League season.
So, the Sacramento Athletics?
Here come your Sacramento Athletics! Not so fast, my friend!
Despite the move to Sacramento the Athletics will not be changing their name to the “Sacramento Athletics.” In fact, the Athletics won’t have a city or region representation during their stay in California’s capital city. The will simply be referred to as the Athletics or A’s. Personally, they should be referred to as the “Athletics’ Baseball Club” in a tip of the cap to their beginnings in Philadelphia.
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