MidValleySports.Com

By Tim Byrnes

CBS in Sacramento reported in April of 2024 that Sacramento Kings Owner Vivek Ranadive verified he was in contact with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.

He states that he was told of Manfred’s intention to establish new MLB Baseball franchises on the East and West Coasts.

This puts the Sacramento Area in a ‘testing phase’ to see if the area can support its own team.

Dave Kaval resigned as President of the Athletics, but his decisions are still being felt.

The team has dropped the Oakland name, preferring to refer to themselves simply as the ‘Athletics’ or ‘A’s, a slight that may push the most loyal A’s fan away. To dismiss the name before breaking ground in Vegas seems premature.

Plans are to pay homage to the Sacramento area through enhanced uniforms and merchandise.

To date, they have rejected using Sacramento or West Sacramento in new advertising, which is alienating some from supporting the club during its three-year layover in the California state capitol.

Athletics owner John Fisher is close to Sacramento Kings owner Ranadive, who also owns the RiverCats. The RiverCats used to be Oakland’s AAA team and are currently affiliated with the Giants.

Since the Kings owner is talking to MLB Commish Manfred about West Coast expansion, I wonder if Fisher and Randadive planned this to give Sacramento a chance to shine by using the A’s to show that the area can sustain a team?

Fisher, in turn, gets the ‘break’ from Oakland he has tried so hard to create but still collects MLB’s shared revenue.

Can Sacramento support the A’s and a future franchise?

I say yes.

Sacramento Solons/Senators played minor league ball from the early 1900s to the 1970s. They played from Hughes Stadium (Ahkello Witherspoon played Football there) to Oak Park, where they had robust attendance.

When the A’s had their AAA team in West Sacramento, they led the country in minor league attendance at over 9,300 year after year. The last time the A’s broke 10k in average attendance was in 2020.

Dave Kaval switched the turf, so the Athletics will play on natural grass.

The dugouts, clubhouses, and premium seating have been upgraded to resemble an MLB mini-stadium.

I will discuss stadium comparisons later, but note that the total number of seats is 14,014(10,632 in the bowl and 2,566 on Toyota Home Run Hill).

Home Run Hill is a Little League World Series-type hill where people can picnic and wait for Home Runs, like in Williamsport and MLB Spring Training venues.

More to come.