Report: Oakland A’s executives tour Sutter Health Park as possible temporary home site
(FOX40.COM) — The Oakland Athletics are reportedly interested in Sutter Health Park, home of the Sacramento River Cats, as a temporary home site once their lease expires with the Oakland Coliseum following the 2024 MLB season.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, A’s executives including owner John Fisher and president Dave Kaval visited Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento for a tour on Thursday.
Sutter Health Park has emerged as a possible landing spot for the A’s as the team waits to relocate to their new home in Las Vegas in 2028.
The idea of the A’s playing at the River Cats ballpark is not welcomed by some local fans.
Report: Sacramento being considered as a temporary home for the A’s
“This is a strong baseball town. You’re going to get a lot of casual fans in the stands, and then you’re going to get, I guarantee you, a lot of A’s out here in their green ‘sell’ shirts, protesting to sell the team,” A’s fan Ray Perez told a FOX40 News crew. “We don’t want you here under these circumstances. We want you to leave.”
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg agrees with the A’s fanbase that the team shouldn’t leave Oakland, but Sutter Health Park potentially hosting the MLB squad would be a chance to showcase Sacramento for another pro sports team.
“This community is a major league community and this city is a major league city,” Steinberg told a FOX40 News crew. “If we have the opportunity to show Major League Baseball and the country how much this community loves baseball that would be an easy sell.”
The River Cats have served as the Minor League Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants since 2015. The A’s were previously the parent club of the River Cats from its inaugural season in 2000 to 2014.
Since its inception, the River Cats have played at Sutter Health Park. The ballpark and team are owned by the Sacramento Kings after the previous ownership group sold the majority stake of the ballclub in August 2022.
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“We are closely monitoring the possibility of the A’s playing their home games in West Sacramento,” West Sacramento City Manager Aaron Laurel told FOX40 in a statement. “The city is prepared to work with both the A’s and Giants to help make this arrangement a win for the teams, their fans, and West Sacramento residents and businesses.”
The River Cats ballpark is on a list the A’s executive team will reportedly tour this week. The A’s will also tour Smith’s Ballpark, another Minor League Baseball stadium, in Salt Lake City this week, the Review-Journal reported.
An interim home venue won’t be finalized until it’s approved by MLB and the MLB Players Association.
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