Oakland A’s to play in West Sacramento for 3 seasons. It’s 86 miles away from the Coliseum, but still much closer than Vegas

The Oakland Athletics plan to play in the city of West Sacramento, California, starting in 2025 while the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise waits for a stadium to be built in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The A’s made the announcement Thursday, saying the team will play home games at Sutter Health Park – home of Minor League Baseball side the Sacramento Rivers Cats – for the 2025-2027 seasons.

The team plans to relocate to Las Vegas in 2028. Sutter Health Park is 85.7 miles (138 kilometers) away from the Oakland Coliseum, but still more than six times closer than Las Vegas from the A’s current home.

According to A’s owner John Fisher, the team had intended to remain in Oakland, where it had played since 1968, before it heads to Sin City in 2028 but was unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in the city.

“We explored several locations for a temporary home, including the Oakland Coliseum,” Fisher said in a statement. “Even with the long-standing relationship and good intentions on all sides in the negotiations with Oakland, the conditions to achieve an agreement seemed out of reach.

“We understand the disappointment this news brings to our fans, as this season marks our final one in Oakland. Throughout this season, we will honor and celebrate our time in Oakland, and will share additional details soon.

“We extend our appreciation to the Kings and the City of West Sacramento, and look forward to making Sutter Health Park our home until our new ballpark opens in Las Vegas,” he added.

The Coliseum has hosted A’s games for 56 years.

The A’s announced their intention to move to Las Vegas in April last year and had the relocation unanimously approved by MLB owners in September.

The nine-time World Series champions will follow in the footsteps of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, who also moved from Oakland to Sin City in 2020. The A’s will become the city’s fourth major sports franchise alongside the NHL’s Golden Knights, the WNBA’s Aces and the Raiders.

Last month, the A’s released renderings of their new, 33,000-seat ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip, which is set to be canopied by an enormous, five-tier roof.

Inspired by baseball pennants, some have compared the ballpark’s design to the Sydney Opera House, while others likened the individual tiers to the scales of an armadillo.

Despite Fisher’s claims that the new ballpark would offer “an unmatched fan experience,” many fans are still resentful over the decision to leave Oakland.

Fans at the Coliseum staged a “reverse boycott” in June 2023, carrying signs that were critical of Fisher’s ownership and implored him to sell the team.

Fisher has become a polarizing figure among A’s fans.

Attendance figures have also taken a hit, The A’s recorded a league-low total attendance of 832,352 across the 2023 season – less than half of their most recent pre-pandemic attendance total of 1,670,734.

Per ESPN, fans protested in the parking lot outside the Coliseum on Opening Day, with many supporters choosing not to enter the stadium and instead watching the A’s season opener against Cleveland Guardians on a screen.

CNN’s George Ramsay contributed to this report.