Vivek Ranadive: No ‘guarantee’ Sacramento will get an MLB team after A’s

Apr 4, 2024, 4:07 PM | Updated: Apr 5, 2024, 9:16 am

Vivek Ranadive speaks at a press conference announcing the Oakland Athletics temporary relocation t...

(Sactown Sports)

Sactown Sports

Sacramento Kings and River Cats owner Vivek Ranadive had a hand in bringing the A’s to Sacramento.

And when they leave for Las Vegas, he wants another baseball team to fill its place.

Ranadive told the media following Thursday’s press conference announcing the Athletics’ temporary relocation that he’s had conversations with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.

“They will be creating a new team, they want it to be on the West Coast, they’d love for it to be in California and I think this is a great showcase for us,” Ranadive said. “We can prove that there’s a market here, and if we can make the team successful, I think we’re in a good position to get the new franchise.”

However, when pressed, the Kings owner went on to say there is no guarantee Sacramento will get an expansion team.

“We have to show what we can do and I have complete confidence that if we set our mind to something, this is an incredible city, we have the best fans in the world and at the end of the day, the best fans in the world will make it happen,” Ranadive said.

Kings owner Vivek Ranadive said things came about very quickly with Sacramento landing the Athletics. Ranadive talks about proving Sacramento will prove itself as a baseball market to MLB, but acknowledges there's no guarantee. His full media Q&A session here. pic.twitter.com/2dq702KweP

— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) April 4, 2024

Thinking beyond baseball, Vivek Ranadive said he’d like to see Sacramento not just become a sports destination, but also a technology center in the world.

“This will be the city of the future,” Ranadive said. “It starts with sports and entertainment. So right now, we have an NBA team, we’ll have an MLB team and in the long term, I’d like this to be a place with a prominent MLB team and other teams.”