Major League Pitch: City leaders, investor sound off on bid for MLB expansion in Sacramento
VALLEY. AND IT WAS A GRAND SLAM. THIS IS WHAT WEST SACRAMENTO WOULD LOOK LIKE IF THEIR DREAMS OF MLB COME TRUE. THERE’S SOME BIG BASEBALL DREAMS, AND THAT’S THEIR FIELD OF DREAMS. THE CITY’S PITCHING TO BRING MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TO THE REGION. YOU CAN SEE IT INCLUDES A BRAND NEW BALLPARK TO REPLACE SUTTER HEALTH PARK. GOOD AFTERNOON. THANKS FOR JOINING US. I’M LISA GONZALEZ. THE OFFICIAL PITCH FOR AN EXPANSION TEAM CAME JUST OVER AN HOUR AGO. THE PROPOSED 50 ACRE SITE WOULD BE HOME TO SACRAMENTO’S MLB TEAM. FOLLOWING THE A’S MOVE TO LAS VEGAS IN 2028. WE HAVE LIVE TEAM COVERAGE THIS AFTERNOON FOR YOU. KCRA 3’S DESMOND CORTEZ IS HEARING FROM FANS. AND WE BEGIN WITH OUR KCRA THREE SPORTS DIRECTOR, MICHELLE DAPPER AND SEAN CUNNINGHAM WITH THIS BIG PLAN. IT WAS QUITE THE PITCH. QUITE THE PITCH. LISA. SEAN, WHAT DO YOU SAY? I MEAN, I’M FEELING OPTIMISTIC. YEAH. IF YOU’RE A FAN OF SACRAMENTO, THIS REGION AND JUST CIVIC PRIDE, THIS WAS A GREAT JUST PUSH TO GET INTO THIS MIX FOR MLB EXPANSION. A LOT OF OPTIMISM, A LOT OF EXCITEMENT, ENTHUSIASM. LOTS OF OF COURSE, ALL OF THAT. BUT OF COURSE THEY HAVE THE LAND. THE BIG THING TODAY WAS THE THE ADDITION OF THE MIWOK TRIBE AND THE AUBURN UNITED TRIBE. ALMOST 2 BILLION, ALMOST 2 BILLION. IT’S AN IMPRESSIVE 1.8 SECURED UP TO THAT. AND LOOK, THAT COULD BE ESSENTIALLY AN MLB EXPANSION FEE TO EVEN JOIN THE LEAGUE. SO THAT’S A HUGE, HUGE NUMBER RIGHT THERE. BUT FOR ME, I THINK THE BIGGEST TAKEAWAY YOU’VE GOT A FORMER MLB INVESTOR, LEAD INVESTOR IN KEVIN MCCLATCHY, A SACRAMENTO GUY, THE FORMER OWNER OF THE PITTSBURGH PIRATES, HERE TO HELP WITH THIS EFFORT. ABSOLUTELY. HE HELPED BUILD AND CREATE PNC PARK. AND HE I MEAN, HIS ADDITION. THERE IS JUST A GAME CHANGER. NAMES LIKE DUSTY BAKER, DEREK LEE, BOTH. DUSTY’S A LEGEND IN HIS OWN SELF OF COURSE. GREW UP HERE IN SACRAMENTO, MANAGED THE GIANTS, WON A WORLD SERIES WITH THE ASTROS, PLAYED THE GAME AS WELL WITH THE DODGERS. SO WE KNOW WHAT DUSTY BRINGS. DEREK LEE AS WELL. GREW UP HERE, PLAYED, PLAYED MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL. AND THEN YOU HAVE THE ADDITION OF THE TWO MAYORS FROM WEST SACRAMENTO AND SACRAMENTO. THEY ARE UNITED. AND AS WE KNOW, WE’VE LIVED HERE BEFORE. WE LIVE HERE. BUT SEEING THOSE TWO CITIES ON THE SAME PAGE, THAT’S IMPRESSIVE. THE SACRAMENTO PITCH IS WHAT THEY’RE CALLING IT. BUT I THINK MORE THAN ANYTHING YOU HEARD COLLABORATION, SO MUCH COLLABORATION. YOU HAD MAYORS FROM ELK GROVE. DAVIS. I MEAN, ALL THROUGHOUT OUR REGION HERE. BUT THOSE TWO IN PARTICULAR, MARTHA GUERRERO AND KEVIN MCCARTHY, WHO WAS REALLY THE ONE WHO WAS THE EMCEE, THE HOST OF THIS EVENT, BRINGING EVERYBODY IN TO SEE THEM BEING KIND OF IN LOCKSTEP WITH ONE ANOTHER IS IMPRESSIVE, BECAUSE THAT’S SO RARE TO SEE IN SO MANY OF THESE THINGS. YOU REMEMBER THE KINGS RELOCATION SAGA. YOU’VE SEEN WHAT’S HAPPENED WITH, OBVIOUSLY, THE REPUBLIC AND THEIR FALSE START TO TRY TO GET MLS AND SOME OF THOSE MOVES THAT DIDN’T HAPPEN. THEY’RE OBVIOUSLY NOW GETTING THE STADIUM IN THE RAILYARDS, WHICH IS ENCOURAGING. BUT IT WAS A SACRAMENTO EFFORT ALL THE WAY. THIS HAVING THIS COLLABORATION THAT YOU HEARD A LOT OF TODAY, I THINK IS VERY ENCOURAGING FOR ANYONE WHO’S A FAN AND WANT TO SEE THIS GO THROUGH. AND HERE IS MAYOR OF WEST SACRAMENTO MAYOR MARTHA GUERRERO TALKING ABOUT, OF COURSE, THE MLB EXPANSION BID. WE ARE READY TO COMPETE FOR A PERMANENT MLB TEAM. WHAT EXCITES ME MOST ABOUT THIS VISION IS WHAT IT COULD MEAN FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR CITY. FOR YEARS, WE HAVE ENVISIONED THE BRIDGE DISTRICT AS A VIBRANT WATERFRONT DESTINATION WHERE PEOPLE CAN LIVE, WORK AND GATHER, AND THAT IT HAS BECOME. NOW, LET’S BE HONEST, THIS EXPANSION PROCESS WILL BE LONG. IT WILL BE COMPETITIVE. IT’LL BE HARD. IT WON’T BE EASY. BUT ONE THING IS CERTAIN. SACRAMENTO IS MLB READY? MLB READY RIGHT THERE. OF COURSE, AS WE SAID, THE LAND THAT’S A LOCK. OF COURSE THEY’VE GOT A LOCAL OWNERSHIP GROUP. THEY REALLY TALK ABOUT THAT NUMBER 20 MEDIA MARKET RIGHT HERE. THE BIGGEST CITY IN THE COUNTRY THAT DOESN’T HAVE THAT ONLY HAS ONE PRO TEAM IN THAT TV MARKET. AND SACRAMENTO ALREADY HAVING BECAUSE OF THAT, THAT MARKET ALONE BEING BIGGER THAN SEVEN ALREADY SEVEN MLB FRANCHISES THAT HAVE NOT ONLY A BASEBALL TEAM, MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAM, BUT EVEN OTHER MAJOR LEAGUE SPORTS TEAMS. SO SUPER ENCOURAGING IF YOU’RE HEARING THAT. AND KEVIN MCCARTHY SAID IT BEST, THIS IS GOING TO BE LONG, DRAWN OUT AND COMPETITIVE. NOW IT’S THEY RING THE DINNER BELL. FIND THAT WELL YOU GOT TO FIND THOSE BIG FISH. MAYBE IT’S MORE THAN THAT. IF YOU LOOK BACK TO THE KINGS RELOCATION SAGA, THOSE THOSE TERMS ARE GOING TO BE FAMILIAR AGAIN. YOU HAD VIVEK RANADIVÉ, MARK MASTROV, RON BURKLE, WHO CAME IN AND OUT NOT ONLY WITH THE KINGS, BUT ALSO THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT WEREN’T NECESSARILY IN SACRAMENTO. SO NOW THE DINNER BELL IS OPEN. HEY, JOE LACOB, YOU’RE DOWN IN THE BAY. THAT COULD BE ONE OF SOMEBODY. YOU’RE MAKING A PHONE CALL. NO QUESTION ABOUT THAT. OF COURSE, KEVIN MCCLATCHY SAYING THIS IS DAY ONE OF THEIR CAMPAIGN. WE SPOKE WITH DUSTY BAKER AS WELL. WE SAID, HEY, YOU’VE BEEN AROUND BASEBALL, YOU KNOW, AROUND PRO SPORTS. HOW HARD IS IT TO ACTUALLY GET THE INVESTOR TO INVEST? AND HE SAID, EXTREMELY HARD, VERY HARD, BUT VERY HARD. THAT’S A GUY WHO PALS AROUND WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE. THEY ALL LIKE TO RUB ELBOWS, RIGHT? THEY LIKE TO GO TO THE FORMER PLAYERS. HAVING THOSE FORMER PLAYERS, THOSE LEGENDS, IF YOU WILL, THEY CAN THEY CAN HELP BE A DRAW FOR THIS PROJECT. YEAH. SO DEFINITELY AN OPTIMISTIC, EXCITING DAY FOR SACRAMENTO AND WEST SACRAMENTO. BUT LISA, THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING. A LONG ROAD AHEAD. LONG, LONG ROAD. AND I DON’T WANT TO GET MY HOPES UP TOO MUCH RIGHT NOW. BUT THOSE ARE SOME BEAUTIFUL RENDERINGS. ALL RIGHT DAPPER SEAN THANK YOU SO MUCH. WE WANT TO CONTINUE OUR TEAM COVERAGE RIGHT NOW. KCRA 3’S VAN NESS AND CORTEZ IS IN WEST SACRAMENTO. LOOKS LIKE YOU’RE AT DRAKE’S AT THE BAR. AND YOU GOT SOME REACTION FROM FANS THERE. WHAT ARE THEY SAYING? DANZON. LISA JUST LIKE YOU. THEY ARE EXCITED. I GOT MY BUDDY HERE, JAMES. JAMES YOU’RE FROM SACRAMENTO BORN AND RAISED. YEAH ABSOLUTELY. HOW EXCITED ARE YOU FOR THIS. YOU KNOW POTENTIAL BID FOR BASEBALL COMING TO SACRAMENTO. YEAH. THIS IS A REALLY INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY. YOU KNOW, IF YOU WOULD HAVE TOLD A FIVE YEAR OLD JAMES WHO SAW THE PLAQUE FOR THE SACRAMENTO SOLONS AND TARGET ON RIVERSIDE YEARS AGO, THAT IN 30 YEARS WE COULD BE SEEING SOMETHING LIKE THIS. I DON’T KNOW THAT I COULD HAVE BELIEVED YOU. SO THIS IS REALLY EXCITING TO SEE YOU. AND I MEAN MANY OTHERS THAT WERE HERE. OUR ANCHORS EXCITED TOO, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALITY OF BASEBALL COMING TO SACRAMENTO. ABSOLUTELY. YOU KNOW, YOU REALLY DON’T SEE THIS MANY DIFFERENT GROUP LEADERS FROM ALL AROUND OUR REGION COMING TOGETHER FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR, FROM THE, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC SECTOR, FROM OUR TRIBAL LEADERS. WHEN YOU HAVE THIS MANY PEOPLE COMING TOGETHER, IT REALLY MEANS SOMETHING SPECIAL IS HAPPENING. VERY MUCH SO. AND YOU HEARD IT, LISA, YOU KNOW, AND HE’S JUST ONE OF MANY THAT SAY, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE KINGS, WE HAVE SAC REPUBLIC, WE HAVE ALL THESE SPORTS, BUT NO BASEBALL. SO THIS IS THE EXCITEMENT HERE WITH A LOT OF FANS, FANS WE SPOKE WITH SAYING AFTER SEEING THE A’S PLAY AT SUTTER HEALTH PARK, THEY BELIEVE SACRAMENTO HAS PROVEN IT CAN SUPPORT BIG LEAGUE BASEBALL. THE GROUP BEHIND THE BID SAYS BILLIONS IN LOCAL INVESTMENT HAVE ALREADY BEEN COMMITTED AS SUPPORTERS HOPE SACRAMENTO CAN EMERGE AS A SERIOUS CONTENDER FOR FUTURE MLB FRANCHISE. NO ONE IS GIVING US A CHANCE. NO ONE BELIEVES IN US THAT WE CAN’T DO IT NOW. TODAY, THEY’RE FINDING OUT THAT WE CAN, WITH THE MONEY THAT WE’RE GETTING FROM THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE INVESTMENT. SO WHEN PEOPLE WHO DOUBTED US HEAR THIS NEWS, IT’S GONNA BE LIKE THAT. HOMER SIMPSON, WHERE HE’S GOING TO BE WALKING BACKWARDS IN THAT BUSH, THAT’S HOW THEY’RE GOING TO BE TODAY. AND I’M JUST EXCITED TO BE HERE. YEAH. FLY ON THE WALL. A LOT OF A LOT OF FANS. YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT’S THE BEST ANALOGY. ALL THE NAYSAYERS ARE MIGHT BE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF QUIETING, GOING BACKWARDS BECAUSE SACRAMENTO DOES HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BRING THAT TEAM HERE TO THIS AREA. IT’S ONE OF THE TOP MEDIA MARKETS HERE. AND THAT’S WHAT A LOT OF FANS SAID. WE HAVE A LOT OF EYES WATCHING SACRAMENTO AND THEY’RE EXCITED FOR THE POTENTIALITY OF BRINGING ANOTHER TEAM ONTO THE HISTORIC LIST. LISA, WE ARE THE BEST FANS IN THE NBA. I’M SURE WE COULD BE THE BEST FANS IN THE MLB AS WELL, SO WE’LL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH AND SAY THANKS TO ALL THOSE FANS OUT THERE. WE APPRECIATE THEM. CHIMING IN. SACRAMENTO REGION HAS TALKED ABOUT THIS DAY FOR DECADES, AND THE A’S TEMPORARY STAY HAS GIVEN A. GIVE US A LITTLE TASTE OF THE MLB DREAM, AND I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE LIKE IT. THIS AFTERNOON, MICHELLE DAPPER AND GULSTAN DART WILL DIVE DEEPER INTO WHAT IT’S GOING TO TAKE TO BECOME A REALITY. WEST SAC IS ONE OF SEVERAL CITIES PITCHING FOR AN EXPANSION TEAM, SO WE’LL SEE WHO WE’RE UP AGAINST, WHAT EACH CITY IS OFFERING, AND WHERE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA STANDS IN THE BID FOR THE BIG LEAGUES. WE SAT DOWN WITH THE AREA LEADERS LEADING TO THE CHARGE FOR THIS. SO JOIN US THIS AFTERNOON AT 430, RIGHT AFTER THE KCRA TH
Major League Pitch: City leaders, investor sound off on bid for MLB expansion in Sacramento
Updated: 4:43 PM PDT May 28, 2026
Sacramento-area leaders announced $1.8 billion in secured funds for a new baseball stadium project, making their message clear: The region is ready for a long-term MLB experience.
Sutter Health Park is the Athletics’ home as they await the completion of their Las Vegas ballpark, but plans are already in the works for baseball in Sacramento beyond the A’s.
A new organization called The Sacramento Pitch will lead the efforts to secure a Major League Baseball expansion team. While the league has not announced official plans to expand, Sacramento wants to be an aggressive player in any potential bidding wars with other cities.
Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty, West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero, Mark Friedman, founder and chairman of Fulcrum Property and Board Chair of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, and former MLB players from Sacramento, Dusty Baker and Derrek Lee, are among the committee putting forth efforts to keep baseball in in Capitol City.
KCRA 3’s Michelle Dapper sat down with some of the members of The Sacramento Pitch. See interviews with them below.
Mark Friedman – Investor spearheading the pitch for MLB expansion in Sacramento
KCRA 3’s Michelle Dapper spoke to Mark Friedman, the founder and chairman of Fulcrum Property Group and the investor spearheading efforts to bring a potential MLB expansion team to Sacramento.
Friedman believes these four factors make Sacramento a perfect home for pro sports: Public committment, a solid local ownership group, a great site, and a great market.
Martha Guerrero and Kevin McCarty: 2 Mayors eager to bring MLB expansion to the Sacramento area
KCRA 3’s Michelle Dapper spoke with both West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero and Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty about their pitch for more baseball in the region.
The press conference
See the official announcement about the expansion bid.