Sacramento officially entered the national competition for a Major League Baseball expansion franchise this week, with regional leaders unveiling a $1.8 billion package of public and private commitments.<\/p>\n
The bid faces stiff competition from Salt Lake City and Portland, and one critical piece is still missing: a primary owner.<\/p>\n
Here are key takeaways:<\/p>\n
Regional officials launched the \u201cSacramento Pitch\u201d Thursday at Drake\u2019s The Barn in West Sacramento, with about $1 billion in public investment from West Sacramento and $500 million from two Native American tribes, according to coverage of the West Sacramento bid launch.<\/a>A grassroots group called the Rivercities Baseball Initiative formed to lobby for the bid, with around 100 people signed up as of Thursday morning, co-founder Matt McDonald told The Sacramento Bee.<\/a>Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob declined to join Sacramento\u2019s campaign, preferring to buy an existing team rather than wait years for expansion, three people with knowledge of the situation said.<\/a>Salt Lake City has committed $3.5 billion toward a ballpark-centered development, while Portland has $800 million in state bonds<\/a> to repay stadium costs through MLB employees\u2019 income taxes.MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred wants the expansion process settled by January 2029, when his term ends, with the league expected to grow from 30 to 32 teams, though finding an owner to pay the $2 billion-plus expansion fee remains Sacramento\u2019s biggest hurdle.<\/a>Some recognizable names are interested in investing with others possibly considering the opportunity.<\/a>Sacramento has chased pro sports for decades, including Gregg Lukenbill\u2019s 1987 \u201cMarch on Baseball,\u201d when he led 21,000 fans in 285 buses to an Oakland A\u2019s game to demonstrate regional interest, per The Bee\u2019s history of the region\u2019s pursuit of franchises.<\/a>The proposed 50-acre site sits in West Sacramento\u2019s Bridge District near Sutter Health Park, where the A\u2019s are temporarily playing before their planned 2028 move to Las Vegas, with developer Mark Friedman chairing the Sacramento Pitch steering committee.The Sacramento River Cats have led minor league baseball in attendance 10 times in 26 seasons, and the A\u2019s have already recorded nine sellouts this season with 50 home games remaining, giving MLB real data points that competing cities cannot offer.<\/a>Mark Friedman acknowledged the bid is essentially trying to \u201cset the table, and then invite the guest of honor,\u201d referring to the missing ownership group, as Sacramento competes with Portland, Salt Lake City and Vancouver for a western expansion slot.<\/a> <\/p>\n This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence based on our own originally reported, written and published content. Before publishing, journalists reviewed this content in compliance with McClatchy Media\u2019s AI policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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