April 4 (UPI) — The Oakland Athletics will move to West Sacramento, Calif., for three years before their permanent relocation to Las Vegas in 2028, the MLB franchise announced Thursday.
The move means that this season will be the last played by the Athletics in Oakland, where the franchise began play in 1968.
They will play their 2025 through 2027 campaigns at Sutter Health Park, sharing a home with the Sacramento River Cats, a Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.
“We explored several locations for a temporary home, including the Oakland Coliseum,” Athletics owner John Fisher said in a news release. “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.”
The #Athletics have hired Mortenson | McCarthy as the construction manager for the Club’s proposed ballpark in Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/2TR0iEyB5U— Oakland A’s (@Athletics) August 21, 2023
The move to play at Sutter Health Park came after negotiations with local officials and the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. Kings owner Vivek Ranadive also owns the River Cats.
“We extend our appreciation to the Kings and the City of West Sacramento, and look forward to making Sutter Health Park our home until our new ballpark opens in Las Vegas,” Fisher said.
MLB team owners unanimously approved the Oakland Athletics plans to relocate to Las Vegas in November. Athletics president Dave Kaval announced in April that the franchise agreed to buy 49 acres at Dean Martin Drive and Tropicana Avenue, near the Las Vegas Strip. Kaval said the Athletics plan to construct a $1.5 billion stadium.
The Tropicana Las Vegas, which stands on the site of the future stadium, closed for good on Tuesday.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Oakland Athletics (@athletics)
The Athletics totaled more than 100 losses each of the last two seasons, but made the playoffs in six of the last 12 years. They started this season 1-6 and will battle the Detroit Tigers (4-0) at 1:10 p.m. EDT Thursday in Detroit.
