Athletics Tour Sacramento Minor League Park As Potential New Venue amid Vegas Move
zach bacharContributor IJanuary 19, 2024
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The Oakland Athletics reportedly visited Sutter Health Park as the team searches for a temporary home ahead of its move to Las Vegas, according to Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The park is currently the home of the Sacramento River Cats, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. It would serve as a temporary site once the Athletics’ lease expires with the Oakland Coliseum after the 2024 MLB season.
On Nov. 16, the league’s owners voted unanimously to move the team to Las Vegas.
“I absolutely am convinced that there was not a viable path forward in Oakland,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said, via Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. “We look forward to being in Las Vegas; there’s tremendous support locally for having the A’s there. We do believe over the long haul that Las Vegas will be a great asset to Major League Baseball.”
The team will officially move to Las Vegas prior to the 2028 season. Per Akers, Athletics owner John Fisher and president Dave Kaval were both a part of the executive team that took a tour of Sutter Health Park.
This also presents an opportunity for Sacramento to showcase the city as a potential destination for a future professional sports team.
“This community is a major league community and this city is a major league city,” Sacramento mayor Darrell Steinberg said, per Jeremiah Martinez of Fox40.com. “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 Athletics’ executives are also scheduled to visit Smith’s Ballpark in Salt Lake City, which has become another potential option. It is currently the home of the Salt Lake Bees, the Los Angeles Angels’ Triple-A affiliate, and has 14,511 seats.
Akers noted that both MLB as well as the MLB Players Association must approve the Athletics’ interim home before the location can be finalized.
