Vivek Ranadive always had this vision, and fans knew it from the start of his partnership with the A’s & John Fisher.
Vivek and His Vision for Sacramento Sports
This is the same owner who was part of keeping the NBA’s Kings in Sacramento along with Kevin Johnson (longtime rival with the Phoenix Suns), who was a town local as he went to Sacramento High school and also attended the University of California, Berkley, and wanted to keep the Kings around a city he grew up in.
Vivek has and always had loftier goals and a vision for growing Sacramento into more than just a basketball town, plus Johnson’s term was up in 2016 (he served from 2008-2016), but Vivek was always looking for new ‘toys,’ and along came the Oakland A’s.
Vivek Knew All Along This Was His Opportunity
Credit: Sactown Sports-Twitter/XRight when I heard that Vivek was part of the plan to bring the A’s to Sacramento for 3 years while their new stadium in Vegas was being constructed, I knew then and there that Ranadive had bigger plans for MLB and Sacramento. This was more than just a ploy to share his land/team/and assets as he was going for the gusto in trying to bring an MLB expansion team to Sacramento after the A’s departed.
Now, over the last couple of weeks, it’s been made official by Sacramento, as they’ve recently put in a bid to bring an MLB expansion team to Sac Town.
It’s still not yet determined whether a team might be yanked from its current city, or whether a new MLB will be started, and that’s yet to be decided, along with the site.
Sacramento has tossed its cap into the bucket for a seat at the table as an MLB franchise beyond the A’s tenure.
MLB Franchise in Sacramento Is More Real Than You Think
Will it happen for Sacramento, where they’re awarded an MLB franchise? I’m going to most certainly say yes as the answer to that question, as Sacramento is a great sports town, and look no further than their support for a Sacramento Kings squad that was almost dead last in every NBA category possible in 2025.
Yes, ticket prices dropped, fans dwindled, but fans still showed up, and that’s the most impressive part through it all, and Sacramento’s loyalty. Look for the town to adore and admire whatever MLB awards them.
Remember, though, this is because of Vivek Ranadive’s keen sense of opportunity, and Sacramento and baseball fans thank you for even having a seat at the discussion table of an MLB expansion franchise.
Thank You, John Fisher & Vivek, if Sacramento is Awarded A Franchise
People say John Fisher is a horrible owner. Still, he’s the one who worked with Vivek to originally bring the A’s to Sacramento and eventually allow Sacramento to join the MLB realm. If anything, Fisher is making it so another team can have the opportunity the A’s had in Oakland and will eventually have in Las Vegas.
Without Vivek Randive to work with, John Fisher might have moved the Athletics franchise out of Oakland altogether to another state without even considering Sacramento as a temporary site. Jobs and livelihoods may have been uprooted in Oakland, but they can be replanted in nearby Sacramento.
It may not be the A’s, but it’s Major League Baseball nonetheless.
Attendance?
Then there’s the nonsensical argument regarding attendance with the A’s in Oakland and currently in Sacramento, where they play and reside. The numbers are quite interesting regardless of their record, which I found quite surprising. Pre-COVID times, the A’s would attract a crowd of an average of around 20,000 per game in attendance. During their late 80s and early 90s runs, the A’s would easily draw 30,000 in attendance. Ever since the 2020 season, though, the Athletics have averaged about 10,000 in attendance. per game, even sometimes in Sacramento, the Athletics draw 11-12,000 easily.
So, as far as a new stadium is concerned for an MLB expansion team, I look for it to hold about 20-25,000, given the A’s past attendance records, with the past as the only outliers were years that can’t possibly be matched when they averaged around 32,000 in attendance from 1988-1992 (The Juice Years).
Look for Sacramento and Vivek Ranadive to be successful in their efforts to bring an MLB team to town, and very soon.
