Athletics Officially Making Move Away From Oakland In 2025
It’s the end of an era for the Oakland Athletics, who will change the course of MLB history in 2025.
It’s been known for a while that the A’s would eventually end up leaving Oakland for Las Vegas. But they’ll first make a pitstop in Sacramento, leaving Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum after the 2024 season.
The Athletics announced plans to move to Sacramento for the 2025-27 seasons Thursday, holding an option to play there in 2028, as well. They will play in Sutter Health Park, a minor league stadium with just over 10,000 seats. The A’s opted to give themselves an option year so they have flexibility if their stadium in Las Vegas is not complete. The “Las Vegas Athletics” will officially come to be in 2028 or 2029.
It’s been a tumultuous few seasons for A’s fans, who’ve held boycotts and been vocal about their displeasure toward owner John Fischer, the man pushing to make a move. Fischer hasn’t been too vocal in his responses but seemingly has punished players for supporting those who have been critical toward him.
Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who visited the stadium with his club this week, unironically called the stadium “beautiful” ahead of his final series at the park.
“This is a beautiful stadium and that’s one of the best fields in the big leagues,” Cora said Monday, per Christopher Smith of MassLive. “There’s only 30 of these in the world. And if you take it for granted, you’re committing a big mistake… I know it’s been rough for the fan base the last few years for X or Y reasons. I don’t want to get involved in that, but as far as the baseball part, they’ve been amazing.”
Oakland, which was home to the franchise from 1968-2024, saw the Athletics win four World Series titles in the Coliseum. It’s expected the multi-purpose stadium, which opened for the Athletics and then-Oakland Raiders in 1966, will not survive without its remaining tenant.