Ranadive reveals he, Fisher spoke about A's playing in Sacramento

Ranadive reveals he, Fisher spoke about A's playing in Sacramento originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

As the Athletics look to figure out where the ballclub will be playing home games after their Oakland Coliseum lease expires at the end of the 2024 MLB season, Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé believes the team could temporarily relocate to the state capital.

In an exclusive interview with CBS Sacramento’s Jake Gadon, Ranadivé explained his friendship with A’s owner John Fisher and his discussions with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred about the team potentially playing in Sacramento while they wait for their new Las Vegas ballpark to be completed.

“It's no secret I am friends with John Fisher, and I've been talking to him about the A's playing here for a few years and I have also been in touch with the commissioner [Rob Manfred] about possibly having a Major League Baseball team here,” Ranadivé said.

The Kings owner then explained that he believes if things work out with the A’s temporary relocation, the city could get an MLB expansion team, all part of his greater plan to turn Sacramento into a full-fledged sports town.

“If we can make the A’s thing happen, and we can show that ‘hey this is an amazing fanbase,’ we’re going to have a huge response if we have baseball here,” Ranadivé explained. “So, in my mind, this should be a mecca for sports, it should be soccer, it should be baseball, it should be women’s volleyball, it should be a whole range of sports.”

When asked how confident he felt about the city becoming a sports mecca and landing an MLB franchise, he explained that the Kings and Sacramento have a great record when it comes to consistency and doing what they say.

“I don’t see any reason why that can’t happen," Ranadivé shared. "Certainly, we have the community, we have the fan base, we have a track record of doing what we say we are going to do. We said we were going to build an arena, we were going to sell games out, we were going to make it a successful business, we’ve done all that.”

Ranadivé is not the only person in Sacramento campaigning hard to land the A’s, as mayor Darrell Steinberg shares the same level of enthusiasm.

In a recent interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Steinberg echoed Ranadivé’s belief that getting the A’s temporarily would be an audition for a potential expansion team.

“It absolutely would be an audition — and we would pass it with flying colors,” Steinberg said. “If MLB has plans for long-term expansion, they ought to be looking at cities and regions that are hungry and that have proven — not only with minor-league baseball but with other sports — that they’re sports-crazy.”

Ever since taking over ownership of the Kings in 2013, Ranadivé has had long-term plans to boost the franchise and the city’s reputation, partnering with Sacramento to build the Golden 1 Center in downtown, and helping to revitalize the team’s fanbase.

Sacramento is already home to the wildly popular River Cats, a minor league affiliate of the Giants, so there is potential for a major league baseball club to achieve success in the area. With more than two million people living in the Sacramento metropolitan area, there are enough potential fans to support another major sports franchise.

The A’s are still in talks with the city of Oakland to remain at the Coliseum through the end of the 2027 season, but nothing has been finalized yet.