The MLB expansion drumbeat is getting much louder, but there are still many more questions than answers in the league’s potential move to add two teams.
As expected, Sacramento leaders formally unveiled an expansion bid Thursday, with officials there seeking to build materially on the three-year interim stay of the A’s in the California capital that is now in a second season.
While the A’s are ultimately headed to Las Vegas in a new stadium set to open in 2028, Sacramento intends to build their own new ballpark at or near the site of Sutter Health Park, the current home of the A’s and Triple-A River Cats. There is not a lead investor in place for the Sacramento bid, and the A’s currently have the worst attendance in MLB playing in that minor-league facility.
Local boosters, however, contend they have amassed $800 million in land and private investment, with access to another $1 billion in public money, including tax-increment financing and receipts from hotel taxes. A new bid organization, The Sacramento Pitch, has been formed, containing a series of local politicians, business leaders, and prominent baseball figures including former MLB player and manager Dusty Baker.
Sacramento, the No. 20 U.S. media market, is the country’s second-largest locale without a MLB club, trailing only No. 15 Orlando.
