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.

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.

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.

“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.

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 — 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.”

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.”

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.”

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