Two days before the Athletics decided to move ahead with playing the next three seasons at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, the city of Oakland made one final Coliseum lease extension offer to the team.
Oakland officials told the San Francisco Chronicle's John Shea that they offered the A's a three-year, $60 million lease extension Tuesday, with one stipulation: That MLB would allow the city to have one year to find interested owners and investors for a potential future expansion team.
On Wednesday, the A's met with Sacramento officials and early Thursday morning, the team announced in partnership with Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive that they would play the next three seasons at the Triple-A ballpark 86 miles north of the Coliseum.
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Oakland mayor Sheng Thao issued a statement two hours after the A's announced they would temporarily play in Sacramento until their proposed Las Vegas ballpark is expected to be ready in 2028.
"Oakland offered a deal that was fair to the A’s and was fiscally responsible for our city," Mayor Thao said. "We wish the A’s the best and will continue our conversations with them on facilitating the sale of their share of the Coliseum site. The City of Oakland will now focus on advancing redevelopment efforts at the Coliseum."
Oakland's three-year, $60 million final offer was a reduction from their original proposal, which was a five-year lease extension which asked the A's to pay $97 million. That offer included a three-year opt out.
Oakland Athletics
Ranadive and A's owner John Fisher were among those who spoke during a short press conference at Sutter Health Park on Thursday, with both expressing excitement about the partnership.
While the A's plan to move to Las Vegas by way of Sacramento, Oakland officials made several offers, to no avail, to keep the franchise in The Town until they leave for Sin City.