MLB releases statement on A’s relocation to Sacramento

Sep 12, 2024, 2:09 PM | Updated: 2:12 pm

The Oakland Athletics will relocate to Sutter Health Park in Sacramento from 2025-27....

(Sacramento River Cats)

Lead Editor & Kings Beat Writer

As the 2024 MLB regular season winds down, plenty of focus will soon move toward the planned relocation of the Oakland Athletics to Sacramento.

While the A’s and Major League Baseball have announced that Oakland will relocate to Sutter Health Park from 2025-27 (with an option for 2028) as the club waits for construction to conclude on a new stadium in Las Vegas, KFBK News Radio provided some news on Thursday morning that appeared to pose a problem to the relocation process.

According to Mark Demsky, the Major League Baseball Players Association has not approved the Athletics’ plans to implement artificial turf as the Sutter Health Park playing surface. Turf has been installed at multiple stadiums around the league, but there are currently no ballparks that possess turf in an outdoor-only setting.

This could pose a problem during the summer months in Sacramento, where temperatures have soared in recent years–most recently reaching an average high of 94 degrees during the month of July.

Elk Grove native and MLB super agent Scott Boras spoke to Demsky about the issue, pointing to the lack of indoor training facilities, the sweltering heat of Sacramento summers, and other issues that could push the MLBPA back into discussions with The African American Sports and Entertainment Group–the new owners of the Oakland Coliseum.

Trouble in West Sac???

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— Last Dive Bar 🏟 (@LastDiveBar) September 12, 2024

Baseball’s most prolific sports agent, Scott Boras, told KFBK health and safety issues are the problem: “We have no Major League fields that are AstroTurf that are outdoors, they are all indoors. When you have turf that is outdoors, I played on AstroTurf in the Minor Leagues, and that hot sun when it’s not a domed stadium gets to 120-130 degrees.”

Boras went on to tell KFBK there will be new ownership of the Oakland Coliseum beginning next month and they most certainly will need a tenant.

“There’s a new party that owns the Coliseum that is now ready and willing to negotiate with the A’s.” Boras believes the team has to listen to the new owners, “because they’ll get their full TV rights, and it may be a better deal on that stadium.”

The African American Sports and Entertainment Group has taken over ownership from the city of Oakland and the A’s.

KFBK News Radio Sacramento – September 12, 2024

Shortly following Demsky’s report, Major League Baseball released a statement that threw water on any notion that the Athletics will call anywhere but Sacramento home for the 2025 season:

“It is a certainty that the A’s will play their 2025 season in Sacramento as planned. MLB is continuing to work productively with the MLBPA on the details of the transition.”

The buzz surrounding Boras’ comments on Thursday falls in line with what the super agent often does in his profession, and that is to bring attention to the matter at hand. In most cases, Boras is promoting one of his superstar free agents, but in this situation, the matter at hand is the comfort of Boras’ clients and every other Major League Baseball player who will take the field in Sacramento next season.

While the MLBPA cannot stop the A’s from relocating to Sacramento, they can bring the league to the negotiating table to work on issues that currently pose a threat to player safety–playing surface, indoor facilities, training equipment, etc.

Construction has started at Sutter Health Park as a new clubhouse, batting cage, and other player facilities are being built to better accommodate Major League Baseball, but there could be more hurdles in front of the A’s in order to appease the Players Association.

Once the 2024 season concludes, it will be interesting to see how the MLBPA and owners find a solution to these issues before players report for Spring Training in mid-February.

More on the Oakland Athletics & MLB relocation to Sacramento

The Oakland Athletics will relocate to Sacramento beginning next season, but plenty of work will need to be done this fall and winter to ensure their home ballpark meets MLB standards by Opening Day 2025.

According to Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, Sutter Health Park will receive major-league upgrades–including an entirely new playing surface–before next season begins.

The West Sacramento ballpark is home of the San Francisco Giants’ AAA affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats, and both the Athletics and River Cats will share the diamond for at least the next three seasons as the city of Las Vegas begins construction on a stadium.

The target date for completing the Las Vegas ballpark is 2028, but many around the league are skeptical that will come to fruition. This means that MLB and Sacramento will need to upgrade Sutter Health Park for the long haul in case the A’s remain in Northern California past the 2027 season.

“They are actually constructing a separate building adjacent to the stadium that will be the home clubhouse,” Manfred said in late May at the conclusion of MLB’s spring owner meetings, per The Athletic‘s Evan Drellich.

“They’re renovating the visiting clubhouse. There’s going to be new artificial turf installed. They are upgrading the camera capability, so they get major-league quality broadcasts out of Sacramento,” Manfred continued. “There are some revenue-associated renovations: some club seating and video boards that are being done in the stadium.

“So, there’s a lot going on there to get it up to snuff for the interim period. They’ve had great receptivity. I think they have seat deposits from, like, 13,000 people or something. They’re doing okay.”

Sutter Health Park and the River Cats are owned by Vivek Ranadive, owner of the Sacramento Kings.

“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,” Ranadive 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.”

Major League Baseball approved the Athletics’ proposal for relocation to Las Vegas in November.

Plans are in place for a $1.5 billion, nine-acre stadium at the site of the Tropicana Hotel with the City of Las Vegas granting $380 million in public funding for construction in 2023. However, the ballpark will not open until at least the end of the 2027 calendar year, meaning the first season it could host the A’s in the regular season would be 2028.

Sutter Health Park opened in 2000 and has 10,624 seats, but could be modified to accommodate up to 14,000.