In the wake of the news that the Athletics will leave the Oakland Coliseum for Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento at the end of the 2024 MLB season, Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé hopes the city eventually will get an expansion team, though there are no guarantees.
Speaking to the assembled members of the media after the A’s press conference announcing the move to West Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park, home of the Ranadivé-owned Triple-A River Cats, the Kings owner was asked if he had received any assurances from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred that the city would get an expansion team in the future.
Ranadive explained that Sacramento's three-season run with the A’s will be a great way to showcase Sacramento’s MLB potential.
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“So I've been in touch with the commissioner and I've gotten to know him, Rob Manfred, and they [MLB] will be creating a new team,” Ranadivé said. “They want it to be on the West Coast.
“They'd love for it to be in California, and I think this is a good showcase for us. We can prove that there's a market here, that we can make the team successful. I think we're in pole position to get the new franchise.”
When pressed by reporters to explain in more detail, Ranadivé said that he is confident that Sacramento fans will demonstrate that the area can have a baseball franchise.
“Yeah, there's no guarantee. We have to show what we can do, and I have complete confidence that if we set our mind to something,” Ranadivé explained, “this is an incredible city, we have the best fans in the world and at the end of the day, the best fans in the world will make it happen.”
Oakland Athletics
"There's no guarantee. We have to show what we can do."
— A's on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) April 4, 2024
Vivek Ranadivé views the A's stay in Sacramento as a "great showcase" for the city to receive an MLB expansion team pic.twitter.com/KKdJVNc1yI
The announcement of the A’s move came after months of negotiations between the team and the city of Oakland failed to produce a new lease for the team at the Coliseum. The team’s lease expires at the end of the 2024 season, with Sacramento now filling the void before the scheduled completion of the A's proposed new Las Vegas stadium in 2028.
Ranadivé was instrumental in securing the deal between the A’s and the city of Sacramento, as he has stated previously that he has aspirations of the region becoming a sports mecca with franchises in other major sports beyond the Kings.