<\/p>\n
Supporters applaud as Sacramento regional leaders announce the region\u2019s bid to secure a Major League Baseball expansion team during a news conference at Drake’s The Barn in West Sacramento on Thursday, May 28, 2026.<\/p>\n
PAUL KITAGAKI JR.<\/p>\n
pkitagaki@sacbee.com<\/p>\n
When Sacramento was at risk of losing the Kings, some of the key forces fighting to keep pro basketball in town were the fans. They arranged sellouts at Arco Arena and packed city council meetings when critical decisions were up for discussion.<\/p>\n
In that same spirit \u2014 and with some of the same people \u2014 a grassroots group has emerged to lobby from the community level for West Sacramento\u2019s pursuit of a Major League Baseball franchise.<\/p>\n
About 100 people had signed up to join the effort as of Thursday morning, and dozens showed up to support regional leaders\u2019 official launch of an MLB expansion bid<\/a>. And their ranks are sure to grow, said Matt McDonald, the group\u2019s co-founder, a lifelong A\u2019s fan and lobbyist for the California Apartment Association.<\/p>\n \u201cWe literally just started today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Over the next few years, the group \u2014 the \u201cRivercities Baseball Initiative,\u201d or \u201cRBI\u201d \u2014 will attempt to demonstrate to local policymakers and to the league that there is enough enthusiastic fan support here to support a permanent MLB team.<\/p>\n \u201cI think our biggest role is to convince skeptics,\u201d McDonald said. \u201cThat the positives of this project, and what it brings to the region, are astronomically better than any criticism that you could levy.\u201d<\/p>\n The effort echoes other groups who have fought, over decades, to bring professional teams to Sacramento \u2014 or prevent franchises from leaving.<\/p>\n In 1987, the Sacramento Sports Association \u2014 led by former Kings owner Gregg Lukenbill \u2014 organized the so-called \u201cMarch on Baseball,\u201d a caravan of 21,000 sports fans who attended an Oakland A\u2019s game to demonstrate the region\u2019s appetite for major-league ball.<\/p>\n In the 2010s, during the uncertainty over the Kings\u2019 future, the Crown Downtown group brought dozens of people to city council on evenings when Kings-related matters were on the agenda, and waited hours for a chance to speak publicly in favor of efforts to keep the team in Sacramento, per The Bee archives.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were teachers, nurses, construction workers, retirees, just everyday people,\u201d Crown Downtown Co-founder Mike Tavares told The Bee in 2016, \u201cand our message was that keeping the Kings and getting an arena was bigger than basketball. It was about concerts, events, economic energy, and revitalizing downtown. We wanted this arena downtown.\u201d<\/p>\n Tavares was one of a dozen Kings fans who flew to Dallas, in 2013, to await the NBA board of governors\u2019 decision to keep the team in Sacramento. He also, in 2014, was among about 50 people who showed up at the airport to welcome Major League Soccer officials to Sacramento, during a visit to evaluate the region for a possible expansion franchise.<\/p>\n A veterans\u2019 counselor by day, Tavares is now also a co-founder of the Rivercity Baseball Initiative, along with McDonald.<\/p>\n Like the Kings\u2019 saga, he views expansion as an effort larger than any sport, Tavares said. It\u2019s also about ancillary events at the sports venues, creating jobs and bringing vibrancy to the region.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is more than just a ballpark and a team. It\u2019s about developing the riverside, for both sides of the river. The temporary, full-time jobs, tourism and civic pride,\u201d Tavares said Thursday.<\/p>\n Rivercity Baseball Initiative members wore T-shirts celebrating their group, and chanted \u201cSacramento\u201d as civic leaders closed out a press conference launching the region\u2019s MLB bid.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are just regular baseball fans and regular, Sacramento, community-oriented people,\u201d McDonald said. \u201cWho want to make this happen.\u201d<\/p>\n They launched a website<\/a> late Wednesday night to try to recruit more, with a signup form for people to receive updates on the group\u2019s efforts.<\/p>\n McDonald and Tavares acknowledged that their effort has its doubters. But they viewed the Thursday announcements a victory. Plus, the greater Sacramento area has a larger population than some of its competitors in expansion, and a strong TV market, McDonald said.<\/p>\n \u201cToo often, the skeptics and the naysayers win the day,\u201d McDonald said. \u201cIf you look at the metrics, we\u2019re not underdogs. The only thing that makes us underdogs is our willingness to let critics dominate the conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n West Sacramento\u2019s pursuit of Major League Baseball will be a long-term proposition \u2014 and so will the grassroots effort. The league has not formally begun an expansion process. The league\u2019s commissioner has said he wants a process in place to expand the league by the time he retires, expected in 2029.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not going to be a sprint, like the Kings relocation saga. This will be a marathon,\u201d Tavares said. \u201cSacramento, why can\u2019t we put our name in there? Let\u2019s do it. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n
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