This season will be the A’s last in Oakland, after all.
Following a years-long effort by owner John Fisher to move the team out of the Coliseum, the A’s announced Thursday morning that they will play from 2025 through 2027 in the Sacramento area at the home of the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate after their lease at the Coliseum expires at the end of this season.
The A’s will have an option to play a fourth season at the Sacramento RiverCats’ 14,000-seat stadium, Sutter Health Park.
The A’s, who moved to Oakland from Kansas City in 1968, expect to open a new ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip in 2028 to complete their relocation there, though they have yet to break ground as construction contracts have not yet been signed.
The news of a pending deal was first reported Wednesday night by Sacramento radio host Dave Weiglein after the team had scheduled meetings with Oakland and Alameda County officials Tuesday and Sacramento representatives Wednesday.
The team stated after the meeting in Oakland that the sides were still “far apart” in negotiations after the city presented an offer in which the A’s would pay $97 million to stay at the Coliseum over the next five years. Under the proposal, the A’s would be able to leave after three years, but would pay the full amount. Mayor Sheng Thao said in a statement Tuesday night that the city would await a response.
The organization, which blamed the city of Oakland for the failure to see through the A’s proposed stadium and ballpark district at Howard Terminal, had reopened negotiations with Oakland officials to extend the lease. Mayor Sheng Thao publicly drew a hard line on those talks, saying she would require a guarantee from Major League Baseball that an expansion team would come to Oakland, and that the city would retain the A’s team name. Thao and the city softened those demands somewhat for Tuesday’s meeting.
A’s team president Dave Kaval and owner John Fisher, the faces of the relocation, also had talks with Salt Lake City officials about playing the intervening period in that city.
The club and Oakland officials held at least two other formal meetings in recent weeks that were described as productive, but ultimately the negotiations to keep the team in Oakland failed.
Fisher released the following statement via the A’s website Thursday morning:
“We explored several locations for a temporary home, including the Oakland Coliseum. 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.”
A major complication for the A’s in leaving Oakland is their local broadcast contract with NBC Sports, which reportedly pays them $67 million in annual revenue, though the move to Sacramento may offer them a chance to keep at least a portion of that. The Sacramento Kings also air on NBC Sports California.
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For much of the A’s 57-season run at the Coliseum, ownership has sought relocation, stretching as far back as 1970, when former owner Charlie Finley reportedly had discussions about moving the team to Toronto. Later came Chicago, Denver and the South Bay — whether San Jose or Fremont.
Now, it appears that ambition will become reality and the A’s will become the third major-league team since 2019 to leave Oakland.
Last month, the Oakland Roots and Soul soccer teams received approval from the Coliseum Authority to play their 2025 home games at the stadium. They won’t have any competition for dates.