Say it ain’t so? But, it is.
A’s owner John Fisher ended months of speculation over where his team would play its home games after its lease ends this season at the Oakland Coliseum.
Late Thursday night, Fisher said in a statement that the A’s will move to 10,000-seat Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento next season. They will share the park with their minor league affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats. The A’s plan to play there through 2027, or until the team can move into a proposed billion-dollar domed stadium in Las Vegas.
Fisher said: "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."
The announced move to Sacramento comes two days after talks between the A’s and the City of Oakland over extending the lease at the Coliseum earlier this week. Those talks ended with the two sides far apart.
A’s fans have staged several, boisterous protests, including boycotts, at the Coliseum over the past few years, demanding that Fisher sell the team to an owner who would keep the ballclub in Oakland.
Meanwhile, on the field, the A’s have lost six of their first seven games – all at home. So far, the ballclub has averaged just 6,400 fans – the worst attendance in major league baseball – after averaging about 10,000 last season.
