The Abridged version:
- Local mayors are officially launching a campaign to attract a Major League Baseball expansion team to the Sacramento region.
- Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty urged locals to attend more Athletics games next year to show that the region is eager for a permanent major league team.
- West Sacramento is a likely fit for a new stadium, if the region is chosen for a new baseball team.
The mayors of Sacramento and West Sacramento are beginning to court Major League Baseball to bring a team permanently to the region.
In his State of the City address Monday, Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty said the region is ready to add another professional sports franchise.
“We really (have) a chance to keep baseball here forever in Sacramento,” McCarty said.
He said that he and West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero are launching a campaign to make sure the region has a “legitimate opportunity” at becoming the home of a new team.
While the Athletics are poised to leave their temporary home in West Sacramento for Las Vegas by the 2028 season, MLB is also looking to expand the league by two more teams.
The expansion teams are likely to add one team in the East and another in the West. In the West, Portland and Salt Lake City currently have groups organizing bids for an expansion team.
The two local mayors are pushing to put Sacramento in that mix.
“We are an MLB-ready city,” McCarty said, adding that West Sacramento is the only one of the contenders that currently hosts an MLB team.
Attendance lagged in 2025 season
Attendance at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento fell below expectations in the 2025 season, with an average of just 9,487 fans through the 81-game season — lowest in Major League Baseball. The stadium holds 14,014 fans.
McCarty acknowledged that a new major league team would also require a new stadium.
“We’re agnostic to where,” McCarty said. “It could be anywhere in Sacramento. Most likely is the city of West Sacramento.”
Guerrero said that the area around Sutter Health Park is the most likely location for a new baseball stadium.
“It seems natural to continue to build out that area,” Guerrero told Abridged.
She added that the new partnership between West Sacramento and Sacramento will focus on attracting more sponsorship for the Athletics and encouraging stronger attendance.
McCarty capped off his State of the City event by encouraging local residents to attend more Athletics games in hopes of showing the region’s interest in professional baseball.
“So after talking to people in Major League Baseball … they said there’s one thing we can do to dramatically increase our odds, it’s making sure that we support the A’s here to show that we are worthy of a major league franchise,” McCarty said. “So get out there and support Major League Baseball.”
Watch: Kevin McCarty discusses the effort to keep Major League Baseball in Sacramento at Monday’s State of the City discussion with Vicki Gonzalez of CapRadio.
Felicia Alvarez is a reporter at Abridged covering accountability. She’s called Sacramento home since 2015 and has reported on government, health care and breaking news topics for both local and national news outlets.