With Capital Region officials recently launching a “Sacramento
Pitch” campaign aimed at bringing a Major League Baseball
expansion franchise to West Sacramento, there’s hope the current
temporary residency of the Athletics will be its not-so-secret
weapon.

“We’re already playing ball here and now we’re ready to build a
better venue,” Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty said during opening
comments on May 28 during a packed news conference at Drakes: The
Barn. The campaign announced that a new ballpark, along with
Bridge District waterfront mixed-use development, will go on a
50-acre parcel in West Sacramento near Sutter Health Park should
the region get a bid when the 30-team MLB is scheduled to add two
franchises — one in the east and another in the west — by 2029.

By throwing its hat in the ring, Sacramento’s admitted longshot
bid will be competing with other cities trying for the same two
prizes, including Nashville (the eastern favorite), Salt Lake
City, Charlotte and Portland.

But Sacramento, leaning into its 175-year history as a baseball
town, is the only one hosting a current MLB team. The A’s, after
57 years in Oakland, are playing their second season of a planned
three-year temporary residence at the 26-year-old, 14,000-seat
Sutter Health Park (formerly Raley Field) in a unique sharing
situation with the minor league River Cats before the Athletics’
planned move to Las Vegas in 2028. From the first news conference
in March 2024 when A’s owner John Fisher announced the A’s would
be playing in West Sacramento, officials said they considered the
temporary stay as an opportunity to show that the region could
successfully host the MLB.

The May 28 packed news conference at Drakes: The Barn was packed.
(Photo by Steve Martarano)

Making the pitch

The Sacramento Pitch campaign is supported with nearly $2 billion
in public-private funding, including $800 million in land and
private investment from developer Mark Friedman, and the Shingle
Springs Band of Miwok Indians and United Auburn Indian Community.
Also, around $1 billion in expected investment was pledged from
the City of West Sacramento through a combination of tax
increment financing, existing hotel taxes and additional sources.
West Sacramento’s stake would be generated through activity in
the ballpark district and would not impact the city’s general
fund or require a taxpayer vote, officials say.

A rendering of the new ballpark, along with Bridge District
waterfront mixed-use development, that will go on a 50-acre
parcel in West Sacramento near Sutter Health Park should the
region get a bid when the 30-team MLB is scheduled to add two
franchises by 2029. (Courtesy rendering)

The campaign is led by former Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg
and co-chaired by West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero and
McCarty. Other key partners include local business leaders, and
labor unions. The steering committee includes Chair Friedman,
founder and chairman of Fulcrum Property Group; Barry Broome,
president and CEO of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council;
Regina Cueller, chairwoman, Shingle Springs Band of Miwok
Indians; former MLB players and Sacramento natives Dusty Baker
and Derrek Lee; West Sacramento Mayor Pro Tem District 4 Verna
Sulpizio Hull; Sacramento Kings COO Matina Kolokotronis; Kevin
McClatchy, chairman of McClatchy and the former owner of the
Pittsburgh Pirates; Mike Testa, president and CEO of Visit
Sacramento; and John Williams, chairman, United Auburn Indian
Community.

Two local Sacramento-area baseball legends, Dusty Baker and
Derrek Lee, at the May 28 news conference offering their support
of the Capital Region’s pursuit of a MLB expansion team. (Photo
by Steve Martarano)

“A year ago, Martha (Guerrero) and I were invited to throw out a
first pitch at an A’s game, and we started thinking,” McCarty
says. “The A’s are here in Sacramento; wouldn’t it be amazing if
one day we could compete for an expansion team? We knew, like all
of you, it would be hard with three teams in Northern California,
but with the A’s in transition to a new home in Las Vegas, we
thought, hey, this is our opportunity, this is our chance.”

Officials point out that the Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto media
market is defined by Nielsen as the 20th largest in the United
States, and is the most underserved major league market in the
country, with just one major professional team (the NBA Kings).
The market reaches an audience of approximately 1.55 million
television homes,spanning 16 counties across Northern and Central
California. There are seven media markets currently with MLB
teams smaller than Sacramento.

West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero, who is also the honorary
co-chair of The Sacramento Pitch campaign, at the May 28 news
conference. (Photo by Steve Martarano)

Looking to take advantage of Sacramento’s temporary A’s residency
is a grassroots effort of around 100 members — many who have been
involved with other issues over the years such as helping keep
the Kings in Sacramento — who are actively trying to get fans to
attend games to show that Sacramento can support a MLB franchise.

The A’s power

The Athletics’ first season in West Sacramento in 2025 drew a
disappointing average of 9,500 fans per game while the front
office was criticized for not better embracing the city. This
year has been different in the “Sacramento” branding department,
however, with clothing, hats and other memorabilia readily
available, both at the ballpark and online. During each of 13
season-long “Sacramento Saturday” promotional days, each Saturday
game will feature a giveaway item, while A’s team members that
day will wear bright gold jerseys emblazoned with “Sacramento” in
green script.

The new branding efforts have seemed to have a positive effect.
Through 28 home dates, the A’s, through the May 28-31 sold out
three-game homestand against the New York Yankees, already have
had 12 sellouts, compared to seven all of last year, and are
drawing an average of 10,820 fans per game, as the A’s have
stayed at or near the top of the American League West Division
despite having a record around the .500 mark.

“We’re reaching out to community groups through our local city
council members in Sacramento, and we’re encouraging the
community groups to come out to a ball game,” John Fingarson, one
of the Rivercities Initiative organizers, said. (Photo by Steve
Martarano)

“We’re reaching out to community groups through our local city
council members in Sacramento, and we’re encouraging the
community groups to come out to a ball game — River Cats, A’s,
whatever it might be — trying to get people’s cheeks in the
seats,” John Fingarson, one of the group’s organizers, says after
the press conference wearing the group’s emblazoned hat and
“Rivercities Initiative” t-shirt.

 “The initiative is like, hey, let’s prove to Major League
Baseball that we are major league ready. We’re proud to get Major
League Baseball to Sacramento,” Fingarson says. “Just like a
baseball field, it’s all grass, grassroots, that’s what’s going
to win this for us.”

Athletics players take the field before the sold out May 31 game
at Sutter Health Park against the New York Yankees. (Photo by
Steve Martarano)

Mayor Guerrero said they immediately included two of the
initiative’s founders, Mike Tavares – whose “Crown Downtown”
group was pivotal with keeping the Kings in Sacramento – and Matt
McDonald.

“Very early on, we made sure Mike was included in meetings with
all of our city leadership,” Guerrero says after the news
conference.  “He organized here with Matt, who also reached
out to me, and they want to be able to have a seat at the table
in the planning of the future. But you know more than that, they
want to be in City Hall to provide that momentum and that strong
support, like they did for the Kings.”

A long shot?

While the campaign admits the $2 billion already accrued won’t be
near enough needed to secure a MLB team, it continues to seek a
key outside funding source that would pay the expansion fee,
expected to be at least upwards from $2 billion, and help build
the ballpark – a situation similar to what Sacramento Republic FC
is facing, but on a much larger scale. SRFC received a Major
League Soccer bid in 2019 only to have major funder Ron Burkle
pull out in early 2021. 

SRFC, however, is still moving forward and currently building a
new 20,000-seat stadium in the Railyard District. The team
recently unveiled what the luxury boxes will look like at the new
stadium and are already taking orders for reservations for the 12
“field suites” and 15 “executive suites.”

As construction continues with infrastructure work on a new
Railyards stadium due to open in 2028, Republic FC announced new
premium luxury suites. (Courtesy rendering)

Broome, president and CEO of the Greater Sacramento Economic
Council, said seeking a team will be a “litmus test” for what
defines Sacramento in the future.

“We’re a major league town that’s a leader in the semiconductor
industry, top five in the United States in entrepreneurship,”
Broome said during the news conference. “We’re a world-class life
science community. We have the highest performing AAA baseball
team, the highest performing USL soccer team, and we have a top
10 revenue producer on an NBA team. Don’t let anybody talk us
down, don’t let anybody push us around, stick that in your head,
and we’ll get this done.”

–

Never miss a story: Get Comstock’s weekly newsletter delivered to your
inbox.