The Oakland A’s are officially moving to Sacramento starting in the 2025 season for three seasons with an option for a fourth before making their expected move to Las Vegas.
Vivek Ranadivé, the owner of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, joined Athletics owner John Fisher to announce the move on Thursday. The team will play its home games at Sutter Health Park, where the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats currently play.
“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,” Ranadivé stated. “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.”
“We look forward to making Sutter Health Park our home through our move to Las Vegas,” Fisher added. “We extend our appreciation to the Kings and the City of West Sacramento for hosting the A’s while we work to complete our new ballpark in Las Vegas.”
“We explored several locations for a temporary home, including the Oakland Coliseum,” Fisher continued. “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 were founded in 1901 as the Philadelphia Athletics, the American League’s counterpart to the National League Philadelphia Phillies. The majority owner, Ben Shibe, was actually a minority owner in the Phillies; the legendary manager Connie Mack was not only the team’s initial manager (and would be for the next 50 years) but also owned 25% of the team. The name was taken from the Athletic Base Ball Club of Philadelphia, which had been one of the original members of the National League when it was founded in 1876 but folded after one season.
The early years for the franchise were halcyon days, as the team won pennants in 1902, 1905, 1910, 1911, 1913, and 1914 and won the World Series in 1910, 1911, and 1913. In the late 1920s, the Athletics fielded one of the finest teams ever assembled, winning pennants from 1929-1931 and winning the World Series in 1929-1930.
Fallow decades followed, and at the end of 1954, the Athletics were sold and moved to Kansas City for the 1955 season. In the years that followed, the Athletics were often accused of acting like a farm team for the New York Yankees; between 1955 and 1959, the A’s and Yankees made 16 trades involving 61 players. The Yankees procured many star players, including Roger Maris (who would break Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record and win two MVP awards with the Yankees), third baseman Clete Boyer, and pitcher Ralph Terry.
Charlie Finley bought the team in 1960, and later moved them to Oakland in 1968, paving the way for the Oakland dynasty of the early 1970s. They became one of the few teams in baseball history to win three consecutive World Series championships (1972-1974) with a star-studded lineup that included an indomitable starting rotation of Catfish Hunter, Ken Holtzman, Vida Blue, and Blue Moon Odom along with reliever Rollie Fingers. They also boasted Reggie Jackson, Sal Bando, and Joe Rudi. The team later won the World Series in 1989 with a team featuring Jose Canseco, Mark McGuire, and Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley.
“When I saw that this morning, it kind of hit me in the gut,” Eckersley said of the move to the San Francisco Chronicle. “Ugh. That’s my true reaction.”