The Oakland A's are making it official: this is their last season in the East Bay.
The A's will have a new, temporary home in West Sacramento after the 2024 season, the team announced in a news release Thursday.
Unable to reach a deal for a lease extension at the Coliseum, the A's will play three seasons at Sutter Health Park, home of the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, starting in 2025, with an option for a fourth season, the release said. The team will play games at Sutter Health Park while they wait for a new stadium in Las Vegas to be completed.
The River Cats are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants and owned by Sacramento Kings owner chairman Vivek Ranadivé, who was involved in negotiations to bring the A's to Sutter Health Park.
"I’m thrilled to welcome the A’s to Sutter Health Park, where players and fans alike can enjoy a world-class baseball experience and create unforgettable memories," Ranadivé said. "Today marks the next chapter of professional sports in Sacramento. The passion of our fans is second to none, and this is an incredible opportunity to showcase one of the most dynamic and vibrant markets in the country."
Ranadivé sees this deal with the A's as one step closer to his goal of bringing a full-time, major league baseball team to Sacramento.
The move became more urgent because of how far apart the A's were with the city of Oakland on a lease extension at the Coliseum. The city wanted $97 million. The A's offered $17 million.
"We look forward to making Sutter Health Park our home through our move to Las Vegas," said A's owner and managing partner John Fisher. "We extend our appreciation to the Kings and the City of West Sacramento for hosting the A’s while we work to complete our new ballpark in Las Vegas.
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Sutter Health Park seats about 10,600, with standing room and outfield lawn space that pushes the park's capacity to more than 14,000, according to the park's website. The Oakland Coliseum has the capacity to seat more than 46,000 people for baseball games, according to the MLB.
Fisher acknowledged at a press event Thursday that Sutter Health Park will be a bit smaller than what MLB fans are used to, describing it as "this very intimate--the most intimate ballpark in all of Major League Baseball for the next 3 years."
"We explored several locations for a temporary home, including the Oakland Coliseum," Fisher added. "Even with the long-standing relationship and good intentions on all sides in the negotiations with Oakland, the conditions to achieve an agreement seemed out of reach. We understand the disappointment this news brings to our fans, as this season marks our final one in Oakland. Throughout this season, we will honor and celebrate our time in Oakland, and will share additional details soon."
West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero said the park and the community will be an embracing environment for the team and believes it will help prove the region is up to the task of supporting a major league team.
"We are so excited for this -- this historic day because it's been a dream for West Sacramento to have a major league team here," she said during a news conference Thursday.
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao also released a statement in response to the deal.
"Oakland offered a deal that was fair to the A’s and was fiscally responsible for our city," Thao said. "We wish the A’s the best and will continue our conversations with them on facilitating the sale of their share of Coliseum site. The City of Oakland will now focus on advancing redevelopment efforts at the Coliseum."
According to Thao's office, negotiations to keep the team in Oakland continued all the way up until Wednesday. The city and county had asked the team to pay $97 million for five years of play, with some caveats. The A's rejected that offer Tuesday.
Wednesday, city and county negotiations proposed $60 million dollars for three years. Thursday's announcement from the A's confirmed the team's ultimate rejection of that offer as well.
For some city leaders, this ends a drawn-out -- and often painful-- fight to keep the team rooted in Oakland.
"The lack of attention, the lack of support for the city, for their fans," Oakland City Council Member Noel Gallo said of the A's.
"Let's just kiss and say goodbye. 'I'm gonna miss you, but let's just kiss and say goodbye,'" Gallo said.
According to Gallo, the wounds don't end when the team leaves. City and county taxpayers are still paying off millions of dollars in bonds from prior efforts to expand and renovate the Coliseum.
Gallo is hoping that a plan to attract professional soccer teams to the venue will help fill the gap created by the departures of professional sports teams.
Competition will continue at the Coliseum after the A's depart, the Oakland Roots and Oakland Soul soccer teams have been approved to play home games there in 2025.
The Oakland Ballers professional baseball team, which is starting up games in Oakland in the Pioneer Baseball League this June at Raimondi Park, wants to see sports continue at the Coliseum.
"We love the Coliseum, we wanted to play a game in the Coliseum, we’d still love to play a game in the Coliseum, we think it's one of the most wonderful places to participate in any kind of sport," said Oakland Ballers co-founder Paul Freedman.
"We will continue to love Oakland and continue to love baseball and hope that baseball will continue to be in Oakland," Freedman emphasized.
There has been no word on what the A's plan to do with the team's 50% ownership stake in the coliseum.
Fans have been in open revolt against the team's owner John Fisher ever since he announced plans to move the team to Las Vegas. One group organized a boycott of the A's season opener game this year, with a goal of pressuring Fisher to sell the team to someone who would keep it there.
"I don't like it at all. I'm loyal to where I live and the A's should be in Oakland," one baseball fan named Sylvia told NBC Bay Area on Thursday.
"I'm kinda glad they're leaving you know," said Emilio of Alameda, "kinda sucks that...big sports organizations are taking taxpayers' money and they're pretty much holding the city hostage."
The A's fans NBC Bay Area spoke with on Thursday said they do not see themselves driving to Sacramento to see a game.
"I know season ticket holders that stopped going. And so, no. I can't support them if they can't support us," said baseball fan Peter Stampfer.
James Harris of San Leandro explained that he was born and raised in Oakland.
"Grew up rooting for the A's: Dave Henderson, Ricky Henderson, Dave Stewart," Harris said.
He said it has been "disheartening" to lose the Raiders, the Warriors, and soon the A's in Oakland.
"When you start losing those teams that used to be part of the culture -- part of the fabric -- and to see them disappear the way that they disappeared, it hurts," he continued.
