A's reported deal to move to Sacramento could backfire on team
Late Wednesday night, a report indicated that the Oakland Athletics are close to finalizing a deal to play in Sacramento as soon as the 2025 season, with an announcement potentially coming Thursday or Friday.
While the move accomplishes one goal of A's owner John Fisher, at least temporarily, it might not be a far enough gap to escape the fury of scorned Oakland fans.
With roughly 80 miles separating the two cities, a great deal of baseball fans in the area are likely already A's fans. Meanwhile, if they happen to be Sacramento Kings fans, too, it wouldn't be hard to sympathize with the Oakland faithful after their NBA team faced the threat of relocation for years.
Meanwhile, if that isn't enough to turn Sacramento-area fans against the A's, the product might. As Matt George of ABC10 pointed out, the allure of seeing stars from opposing teams "steamroll your glorified minor league" squad will get old after a while.
The move to Sacramento might cause an initial buzz, but with a lackluster team and no promise of a future in the city, it might be doomed on arrival.
The report states that more details regarding the team name, opt-outs, and years of the agreement will come shortly. However, the belief is that the A's will play three seasons at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento while the franchise awaits the construction of a new ballpark in Las Vegas.
The latest news on the A's future comes just days after Oakland presented the team with a five-year contract extension to continue playing at the Oakland Coliseum. Meanwhile, the iconic Tropicana resort along the Las Vegas strip closed for good on Tuesday, reportedly to make room for a new A's ballpark tentatively scheduled to be completed by 2028.
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