Athletics

The 2024 season will be the last one for the Athletics in the city of Oakland.

The Sacramento Kings, who are the majority owner of the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, announced the city will host the A's at Sutter Health Park for three seasons from 2025 to '27 with an option for 2028 ahead of the club's planned move to Las Vegas.

The A's are moving to Sacramento from 2025-27, with an option to play there a 4th year, according to an announcement. They're planning to be done in Oakland after this season, their 57th in the city. pic.twitter.com/ARVKmZa6TS

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) April 4, 2024

Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento will host the A's for the 2025-27 seasons - ahead of the team's move to Vegas in 2028. pic.twitter.com/KryyjzpLMl

— Athletics (@Athletics) April 4, 2024

Per The Athletic's Evan Drellich, a team spokesperson said the A's don't plan to have a city designation in their name for the interim period in Sacramento.

Asked if the A's were now changing their name to the Sacramento A's, a spokesperson said the team will be called the Athletics and A’s for the interim period. https://t.co/SdzhHNW8K9

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) April 4, 2024

The River Cats' stadium will be much smaller than the Oakland Coliseum, though ESPN's Jeff Passan noted capacity at Sutter Health Park could get as high as 14,000 fans when you add in grass outfield seats.

The A's plan to move to Sacramento for the 2025-27 seasons, with an option to play there in 2028 as well, the team announced. They will play in Sutter Health Park -- just over 10,000 seats, with grass outfield seats to increase capacity to 14,000 -- for at least three seasons.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 4, 2024

A crowd of 14,000 for a single game would be a dramatic improvement for the A's. They have been averaging just over 6,000 fans in Oakland for their first six home games this season.

The Nationals had more fans at their home opener than the Athletics in all 6 of their home games 😭

(🎥: @GreekGodOfHops) pic.twitter.com/hxYgpA0LlV

— DraftKings Sportsbook (@DKSportsbook) April 3, 2024

There was a lot of uncertainty prior to Thursday's announcement about where the A's were going to play in 2025. Their lease with the Coliseum expires after this season.

In a statement released on Tuesday (h/t Jason Mastrodonato of the San Jose Mercury News), the Athletics said they were "far apart" in negotiations with Oakland city officials about a possible short-term extension of their lease.

A spokesperson for the city of Oakland told Mastrodonato the city "lowered its demands and is no longer requesting the guarantee of an expansion MLB team, nor demanding the A's leave their name and colors behind" as part of its terms for a lease extension.

There also remains uncertainty about the Athletics' planned move to Las Vegas. Even though the club entered into a purchase agreement in April 2023 for land near the strip to build a new stadium, Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman told the Front Office Sports podcast in February that the plan "doesn't make sense" and they should find a way to stay in Oakland.

Goodman later clarified her comment with a statement on X, noting she is "excited about the prospect of Major League Baseball" in the city. If the Athletics' attempt to resolve the situation in Oakland fails, she added that Las Vegas has shown it is a "spectacular market" for professional sports franchises.

Statement on today’s conversation about the Oakland A’s. pic.twitter.com/3dOXfFuq3d

— Shelley Berkley (@mayoroflasvegas) February 6, 2024

The A's have revealed designs for a new stadium in Las Vegas, but funding for the project remains uncertain. Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo signed into a law a bill approving $380 million in public financing for the proposed $1.5 billion stadium.

A teachers' union in Nevada has filed a lawsuit attempting to block the use of public funds for the stadium project amid ongoing funding issues for public education in the state.

"Every dollar we spend building stadiums is a dollar we aren't using for public education," the association said in a statement provided to the Associated Press by spokesperson Alexander Marks. "Public money should not go to a billionaire for a stadium while Nevada ranks 48th in the nation with the largest class sizes and highest educator vacancy rates in the country."

Mortenson-McCarthy, the A's ballpark construction manager, unveiled a plan to the Las Vegas Stadium Authority last October in which they would break ground on the stadium in April 2025 and be completed in January 2028.

The option for a fourth season in Sacramento would presumably be exercised if there are any construction delays preventing the stadium being ready in time for the 2028 MLB season.

Oakland has been home to the A's since the 1968 season. They have won four World Series titles and 17 division titles during their time in the Bay Area.

The Oakland Athletics and representatives from the city of Oakland and Alameda County met Tuesday to discuss the possibility of the A's extending their lease at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum through 2027.

According to ESPN's Tim Keown, the sides met at the Athletics' team offices and no deal was reached, so the A's are now set to meet with city officials from Sacramento, California, about the possibility of playing three seasons in Sacramento before moving to Las Vegas.

The office of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao released a statement on Tuesday's meeting, saying: "Oakland made a fair and reasonable offer to the A's. We await their response and look forward to continuing discussions as necessary."

The A's also released a statement that said: "We appreciate Oakland's engagement and also we are far apart on the terms needed to agree on an extension."

Back in November, MLB owners unanimously approved the Athletics' move from Oakland to Las Vegas with a plan to begin play in Vegas in a new ballpark starting in 2028.

Per Keown, the ballpark is slated to be built in the parking lot of the Tropicana Casino and Resort with the goal of being ready to use in 2028, although that timeline is with the assumption of no major delays.

Even if the ballpark is ready by 2028, the A's find themselves in a conundrum since their lease at the Oakland Coliseum is up after this season.

Keown noted that Oakland's first offer to the A's was a five-year lease with the ability to opt out after three years.

The Athletics could receive a similar offer from Sacramento, but they would play at Sutter Health Park, which they would have to share with the Triple-A Sacramento RiverCats.

Vivek Ranadive, who is the owner of the NBA's Sacramento Kings, is also the owner of the RiverCats, and has his sights set on bringing Major League Baseball to Sacramento.

According to Keown, if Sacramento strikes a deal with the A's, it could become their permanent home should things in Vegas fall through.

Provided the Athletics are unable to come up with a resolution in Oakland or Sacramento, Salt Lake City is reportedly also in the running to serve as the franchise's home from 2025 through 2027.

The Oakland Athletics still need somewhere to play ahead of their anticipated move to the Las Vegas Strip in 2028, and there will be an offer made to have them remain at the Oakland Coliseum until then.

The city of Oakland will present the A's with an offer to extend the team's lease at Oakland Coliseum for five years with an opt-out after three years, according to documents obtained by ESPN's Tim Keown. The deal would also require the team to pay a $97 million extension fee.

A meeting between both sides is expected to occur on Tuesday.

The A's current lease at the Coliseum expires after this season.

The city of Oakland is presenting the A's with a five-year deal "to safeguard itself in case there are construction delays in Las Vegas or the deal falls through," per Keown.

The $97 million extension fee is "non-negotiable," according to Oakland chief of staff Leigh Hanson, and it will still be owed even if the team opts out of the contract after three years.

Oakland is also going to ask that the A's take over the cost of switching the playing field at the stadium from baseball to soccer for Oakland Roots SC of the United Soccer League, per Keown.

Further, the city is asking the A's to sell their 50 percent ownership stake in the Coliseum complex to a local development company to move forward with the redevelopment of the location. That has been agreed to but not finalized, according to Keown.

Of what is being asked of the team, the extension fee "figures to be the biggest point of contention in the upcoming negotiations," according to Keown.

The A's currently pay $1.5 million in rent to play at the Coliseum, per Keown, and they offered the city a two-year deal with payments of $7 million and $10 million over the course of the contract.

"I remain committed to doing everything in my power to keep the A's in Oakland," Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao said in a statement to ESPN. "The terms we have proposed for a lease extension at the Coliseum are clear, reasonable and achievable. Having Major League Baseball in Oakland is what is best for the owners, the league, the players and most importantly, the fans."

In addition to the Coliseum, the A's have also held discussions with Sacramento and Salt Lake City about temporarily moving the team to minor league ballparks in their respective cities until their stadium in Las Vegas is ready.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is hoping the A's have their interim stadium plans in place by early summer for scheduling purposes, per Keown.

The A's unveiled renderings of their Las Vegas stadium project on the Tropicana site earlier this month. The ballpark would have a 33,000-person capacity and have views of the Las Vegas skyline.

The A's are 0-3 to open the 2024 season and will take on the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday before hosting the Boston Red Sox beginning on Monday.

As fans gathered inside Oakland Coliseum for Opening Day on Thursday, thousands more stood in the parking in protest of the Oakland Athletics' ownership.

Per ESPN's Tim Keown, fans waved "sell" flags while eating free tacos and enjoying live music, staying in the parking lot during Oakland's matchup with the Cleveland Guardians.

The announced attendance for the game was 13,522—about 21 percent of Oakland Coliseum's capacity.

The protest, which is part of what fans are reportedly calling "Summer of Boycott," comes as the A's begin what could be their final season in Oakland. Major league owners voted unanimously to approve the A's move to Las Vegas, the club's lease with the Coliseum is up after this season and the team's ownership is targeting a 2028 opening for a new stadium in Nevada.

Among the fan groups in the parking lot in Oakland on Thursday was an organization called Schools Over Stadiums, which is a political action committee of the Nevada State Education Association attempting to get a referendum on the ballot to stop the allocation of $380 million in public funding to help A's owner John Fisher.

Last season, fans took a different approach to protesting. Rather than missing games, fans showed up to the stadium in two "Reverse Boycott" games led by fan groups Oakland 68s and Last Dive Bar. With the move to Las Vegas approved, fans are now taking a different approach.

In anticipation of protests outside the stadium, the A's have opted to keep the parking lot closed until two hours before the game, per ABC News' Tara Campbell. Whether that move from the A's will work is to be determined, but for now fans will continue to make a stand.

Major League Baseball fans got an updated look at what the Athletics' new stadium could look like when they move from Oakland to Las Vegas.

Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal shared some of the renderings and images for the new stadium on Tuesday:

Updated A’s Las Vegas ballpark renderings. #vegas #athletics #mlb pic.twitter.com/zCdO6PXqUK

— Mick Akers (@mickakers) March 5, 2024

Akers further reported on the new stadium plans, noting the ballpark will feature 33,000 seats in a tiered-seating system to improve sight lines, a fixed roof with overlapping layers, the world's largest cable-net glass window behind the outfield and an 18,000-square-foot jumbotron, which would be the largest in the league.

It will be built on the site of the Tropicana hotel, which will close on April 2, and also include 2,500 parking spots included on site.

Construction is slated to begin in April 2025.

"Our design for the new Vegas home for the A's is conceived in response to the unique culture and climate of the city,'" Bjarke Ingels, who is the founder of the Bjarke Ingels Group that is leading the design, said.

"Five pennant arches enclose the ballpark—shading from the Nevada sun while opening to the soft daylight from the north. A giant window frames a majestic view of the life of the Strip and the iconic New York New York hotel skyline. All direct sunlight is blocked, while all the soft daylight is allowed to wash the field in natural light."

Despite these renderings, the process of moving from Oakland to Las Vegas has been anything but smooth.

There have been lawsuits challenging the public money allocated to the stadium, and Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman even said she thought the team should find a way to stay in Oakland before releasing a statement to clarify her position:

Statement on today’s conversation about the Oakland A’s. pic.twitter.com/3dOXfFuq3d

— Shelley Berkley (@mayoroflasvegas) February 6, 2024

On Feb. 27 Mike Axisa of CBS Sports noted Athletics owner John Fisher hadn't secured his portion of the stadium financing. What's more, the team still needs to find a home for the 2025 to '27 campaigns before it would begin play in the new stadium in 2028.

Yet MLB commissioner Rob Manfred believes the move will happen.

"I think Las Vegas is solid, I really do," Manfred said, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (h/t Axisa). "It was a little rough with the mayor, Clark County versus the city. But, you know, from my perspective, (Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman) was the first person who ever talked to me about baseball in Las Vegas.

"I understand all politics are local, and the county is different than the city, but I think the governor and the politicians in general in Las Vegas remain committed to the deal. I think the deal is going to happen."

This will not be the first move for the Athletics, who played in Philadelphia from 1901 through 1954 and Kansas City from 1955 through 1967 before moving to Oakland.

The Athletics exploring various options as they try to find a city that will host them when their lease with Oakland expires after the 2024 season.

Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, the A's have been in discussions with Big League Utah about potentially using the Triple-A stadium in Salt Lake City that is set to open in 2025 before their planned move to Las Vegas in 2028.

The A's are entering the final year of their lease at the Oakland Coliseum. They recently met with Oakland city and Alameda county officials about extending the lease for additional seasons starting in 2025.

Per The Athletic's Evan Drellich, Sacramento is considered the frontrunner to host the A's from 2025 to '27 before its move to Vegas. Oakland and Salt Lake City were considered the other "remaining possibilities" for the club.

Of course, it's not even clear at this point if the A's will end up in Las Vegas for the 2028 season.

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman said earlier this month on the Front Office Sports Today podcast (h/t ESPN.com) the A's have "go to figure out a way to stay" in Oakland.

Goodman later issued a statement to express her excitement "about the prospect of Major League Baseball in Las Vegas, and it very well may be that the Las Vegas A's will become a reality that we will welcome to our city," but that "in a perfect world" A's ownership would be able to work out a deal with the city of Oakland for a new stadium.

Statement on today’s conversation about the Oakland A’s. pic.twitter.com/3dOXfFuq3d

— Shelley Berkley (@mayoroflasvegas) February 6, 2024

On the same day Goodman's podcast interview dropped, a teachers' union political group in Nevada filed a lawsuit to block the state from using taxpayer funds to build a new baseball stadium on the current site of the Tropicana Resort.

Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo signed a bill into law last June approving $380 million in public financing to help build a ballpark for the A's on the Las Vegas strip.

The new Salt Lake City ballpark is broke ground in October 2023. It is set to be the home for the Salt Lake Bees, who are the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels.

Sacramento is reportedly the "front-runner" to host the Oakland Athletics from 2025 through 2027 before the organization officially moves to Las Vegas, according to Evan Drellich of The Athletic.

A decision is expected to be made "in weeks" rather than months, with a return to the Oakland Coliseum as well as a temporary move to Salt Lake City still on the table.

The Athletics' current lease with the Oakland Coliseum expires after the 2024 MLB season.

However, they met with the City of Oakland on Thursday regarding the possibility of the team remaining in the stadium through 2027.

Still, Sacramento appears to be the leading candidate to host the Athletics' home games until the move to Las Vegas is complete. MLB's owners voted unanimously to move the team on Nov. 16, although the lack of a suitable stadium in Las Vegas has led to executives searching for a temporary home throughout the offseason.

The Athletics' interest in Sacramento has been evident, as Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal revealed that team owner John Fisher and president Dave Kaval visited Sutter Health Park on Jan. 18 for a tour of the ballpark. The Sacramento River Cats, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, have called the stadium home since 2000.

Major League Baseball as well as the MLB Players Association must both approve of the short-term home before it can be finalized. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred acknowledged the difficultly in finding a new ballpark when speaking to reporters on Thursday.

"The reality of the situation is that whenever you're leaving a market where you've been for decades, and you're going to make a move to a different city where there's not a stadium, that's a really difficult undertaking, and it's not going to be seamless, smooth — there are going to be bumps along the road," Manfred said, per Drellich.

It appears that the Athletics are close to finding their future destination, though.

The move of the Athletics to Las Vegas might not mean the end of major league baseball in Oakland.

The offices of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred have held "preliminary talks" about guaranteeing the city an MLB expansion team in exchange for an extension of the Athletics' lease, the San Francisco Chronicle's Scott Ostler reported.

The Athletics' lease at the Oakland Coliseum is currently set to expire after the 2024 season, while the team isn't expected to complete its move to Nevada until 2028.

Team leaders met with city and county officials Thursday to discuss a three-season lease extension, ESPN's Tim Keown reported.

Working out a deal with the MLB to grant an expansion team to Oakland would likely necessitate Athletics owner John Fisher selling his 50 percent interest in the Coliseum to an Oakland-based group that has "plans for a major development for the site," according to Ostler.

That sale to the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG) was discussed during the meeting Thursday, Ostler reported. The AASEG has offered $115 million for Fisher's portion of the property, per Ostler.

If Fisher sells, the AASEG-led development could include a new ballpark.

That could be the catalyst for what Thao has campaigned for throughout the A's relocation process: to get the MLB to promise another MLB team to the city.

Although Manfred has previously been dismissive of Thao's likelihood of being granted a new team, the commissioner said Thursday that he wants the MLB to name two expansion cities by the time he retires in January 2029, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Manfred said on Feb. 8 that the Athletics will need to make a decision "in the next few months" regarding where they will play between the start of the 2025 season and the team's move to Las Vegas.

Two potential temporary venues are minor league ballparks near Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, but playing outside the Bay Area would cause the team to lose out on part of its $70 million local television contract.

Other options include a minor league park in San Francisco, or potentially sharing Oracle Park with the San Francisco Giants.

Any of those temporary solutions would mark the end of an era. The Athletics have played at the Oakland Coliseum since 1968.

The Oakland Athletics will likely remain in the city through at least 2027 amid plans to relocate to Las Vegas by 2028.

The A's are slated to meet with Oakland officials on Thursday to discuss a lease extension at the Coliseum, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.

The A's lease at the Coliseum expires after the 2024 season, and the team needs a place to play while they wait for their proposed ballpark to open in Las Vegas, which is slated for 2028.

The franchise's move to Las Vegas was unanimously approved by MLB owners in November, though it still needs to provide renderings and a financing plan for the proposed site on the The Strip.

The A's have played at the Coliseum since 1968 and they pay $1.2 million per year in rent, according to Shea.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters earlier this month that the A's need clarity "in the next few months" in regards to where they are playing after the 2024 campaign, though he added that "it's clearly going to be some place in the west."

Aside from the Coliseum, A's owner John Fisher has toured other potential sites for his club to play at between 2024-2027, including Triple-A parks in Sacramento and Salt Lake City. However, it's unclear where those two locations rank on his list.

San Francisco's Oracle Park, home to the Giants, has also been mentioned as a possibility for Oakland's home games in the interim.

As the A's seek a temporary home, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman provided an interesting opinion on the team's relocation during an appearance on the Front Office Sports Today podcast (h/t R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports) earlier this month.

She said that the franchise's plans to build a stadium on The Strip don't "make sense" to her, adding that the city offered up a better location in a historic part of the city that has a number of highway access points.

"I thought, this does not make sense, and so why is it happening?" Goodman said. "And then I thought, well, because they really want to stay in Oakland, they want to be on the water, they have that magnificent dream. Yet they can't get it done."

When asked if she thought the A's moving to Las Vegas would be a "good thing", she responded, "I personally think they've gotta figure out a way to stay in Oakland and make their dream come true."

While it initially seemed like Goodman wasn't thrilled with the A's coming to Las Vegas, she clarified her comments following the podcast appearance in a statement on X:

Statement on today’s conversation about the Oakland A’s. pic.twitter.com/3dOXfFuq3d

— Shelley Berkley (@mayoroflasvegas) February 6, 2024

The A's enter the 2024 season as one of the worst teams in baseball. Once they complete the move to Las Vegas, they'll be under significantly more pressure to field a contending team.

NBC Sports California announced Tuesday that Jenny Cavnar will be the lead play-by-announcer for their broadcasts of Oakland Athletics games starting with the 2024 season.

She becomes the first woman to handle full-time play-by-play duties in MLB.

The Athletics have hired Jenny Cavnar as their primary play-by-play announcer, making her the first female primary play-by-play voice in MLB history 👏 @HighlightHER pic.twitter.com/Ko6VL1n63B

— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) February 13, 2024

"Jenny is a very talented announcer with significant experience covering baseball," NBC Sports California president Matt Murphy said. "She's been a groundbreaking professional who's earned the admiration of fans and her peers throughout her career. We're very excited for her to join our excellent team and lead our A's coverage starting this season."

Cavnar is coming off a 12-year stint as part of the Colorado Rockies' broadcast crew, and before that she was a reporter and anchor for San Diego Padres games.

Thank you @JennyCavnar for 12 great seasons with the Rockies.

Good luck with @NBCSAthletics! pic.twitter.com/YmgQHKCEcN

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) February 13, 2024

Cavnar previously made history in 2015 when she became the first woman to call a National League game on the radio. Three years later, she subbed in on Rockies television broadcast, the first time a woman was on television play-by-play duty since 1993.

The experienced announcer said joining NBC Sports California to call A's games is "a dream come true."

"Growing up the daughter of a baseball coach, I have loved the game from a young age, along with the stories, history and relationships the game provides," she said. "I'm excited to start my 18th season as a major league broadcaster with my good friend, Dallas Braden, and share our experiences with the loyal fans of the Athletics as we go on this ride together."

The Athletics start spring training Feb. 24 against the Colorado Rockies, and they host the Cleveland Guardians for Opening Day on March 28.