Kevin McCarty formally campaigns for MLB team in Sacramento. Is it possible?
Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty is formally throwing the capital region’s hat into the ring for Major League Baseball expansion.
“We really (have a) chance to keep baseball here forever in Sacramento,” McCarty said at his State of the City address on Monday. “We are an MLB ready city.”
McCarty, along with West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero, announced they would be starting a campaign to make the Sacramento region a viable expansion candidate for MLB as the league explores adding two new teams in the coming years. It’s a formal initiative after political and business leaders have long discussed wanting to add another major sports franchise to the area.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has said his goal is to find two expansion markets by the time he retires in 2029 growing the league from 30 to 32 teams. It’s believed that Salt Lake City and Portland, Oregon, are the two leading candidates in the western part of the country, while Nashville is considered a heavy favorite to land an expansion team in the East.
But no decisions have been finalized, and McCarty said he is hoping to use the Athletics’ temporary stay at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento to springboard the capital region to the top of the list.
“Look, I’m a baseball fan,” McCarty said. “But, look, we need to grow our economy. We need more money to address the issues we talked about earlier. Homelessness, public safety, youth programs. By having 2 million people come downtown (during the season), go to an MLB game — maybe we’ll be like the Dodgers one day and get 4 million people a year — that’s going to really dramatically impact our city budget, the mood of Sacramento and our economy for decades ahead.”
The A’s recently completed their first season in the capital region after playing their previous 57 in Oakland. They’re playing in West Sacramento ahead of their planned move into a new ballpark on the Las Vegas strip in 2028, a site that broke ground in June. In April 2024 they announced a three-year agreement with an option for a fourth season to play in the capital region.
“So what do we have that (other candidates) don’t have? We have a team here today,” McCarty said. “After talking to people in Major League Baseball ... they say there’s one thing to dramatically increase our odds. It’s making sure we support the A’s here and show that we are worthy of a major league franchise. So get out there and support Major League Baseball.”
McCarty said his goal was to find and encourage corporate sponsorships to help support the bid while he hopes the public increases its support of the A’s, who struggled to fill Sutter Health Park last season.
“In order for us to build sponsorships, we need to make sure the A’s are receiving that because that’s the Major League Baseball team we have present,” Guerrero said in a phone interview. “It’s good for our economic development. We want to build on where we started.”
The Athletics’ average home attendance was just 9,487 in the minor league ballpark with a capacity of roughly 13,800. They shared the stadium with the pre-existing Triple-A River Cats, the top minor league affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.
The A’s sold out just seven of 81 home games and ranked last in MLB for overall attendance, which included a Tampa Bay Rays team playing a minor league stadium after Tropicana Field was damaged by Hurricane Milton. The Rays averaged 9,712 fans during their stay at George M. Steinbrenner Field, the spring training complex used by the New York Yankees and their Single-A club.
Expansion will be a hot topic when the current MLB collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2026 campaign, which is likely when the league’s owners will be closer to finalizing expansion plans.
What about ownership or a new ballpark?
While McCarty said his plan is to focus on corporate dollars, there’s no cemented plan for an ownership group or a new stadium, which would be imperative to legitimize Sacramento’s bid.
Salt Lake City, for example, already has an ownership group, stadium site and some $900 million earmarked for a new ballpark. In Portland, a committee called the Portland Diamond Project already has a signed sale and purchase agreement for a 31-acre waterfront site for a new stadium.
Which means Sacramento is seemingly behind — without bankroll and stadium plans.
But McCarty indicated a new stadium could be built in West Sacramento, where Sutter Health Park stands. It’s possible a new stadium could be built on Sutter Health Park’s current footprint or in the parking lot to the south.
MLB stadiums typically face east to account for the setting sun making it likely a ballpark would continue facing toward downtown Sacramento with a view of the skyline and Tower Bridge across the Sacramento River.
“We’re agnostic to where,” McCarty said of a new stadium location. “Yeah, there would need to be a new stadium. Sutter Health Park, formally Raley Field, is not big enough. It could be anywhere in Sacramento. Most likely (would be) the city of West Sacramento.
“Some people say, ‘Wow, you’re the mayor of Sacramento. You don’t want to fight for the ballpark in Sacramento?’ No, I don’t. Wherever it makes the most sense. West Sacramento is the most likely, logical location. So we have that. We have ownership opportunities. But that’s a conversation for tomorrow.”
Sacramento Kings and River Cats owner Vivek Ranadivé said in 2024 that he wanted to bring Major League Baseball to Sacramento permanently — a position echoed by McCarty on Monday. While no formal plans have been announced, Ranadivé has been mentioned in discussions about potential ownership leadership.
“I’ve been in touch with the commissioner and I’ve gotten to know him, Rob Manfred, and they will be creating a new team,” Ranadivé told reporters in 2024. “They want it to be on the West Coast, they’d love for it to be in California. And I think this is a great showcase for us. We can prove that there’s a market here, and that we can make the team successful. I think we’re in pole position to get the new franchise.”
“There’s no guarantee,” Ranadivé added. “We have to show what we can do. I have complete confidence that if we set our mind to something, this is an incredible city, we have the best fans in the world and at the end of the day, the best fans in the world will make it happen.”
There are also capital Native American tribes who have thrown money at sports teams.
Wilton Rancheria became the first tribe to become a majority owner in an American professional sports team when they purchased a controlling stake of the Sacramento Republic FC soccer team. Wilton Rancheria is privately funding a new 12,000-seat stadium in the downtown Railyards which they hope to open in 2027, which could be expanded to more than 20,000 while they work behind the scenes to elevate the club from the second-tier USL to the MLS while speaking to other tribes throughout California about potential investment.
Whoever signs on to own a potential MLB team in Sacramento, they would likely be on the hook for expansion fees which could reach $2 billion. That doesn’t include the cost of a new stadium, which would likely run between $1 and $3 billion.
Could Sacramento support another major sports franchise?
Sacramento metropolitan area, which includes Stockton and Modesto, is the 20th-largest media market in the country, according to Nielsen, with nearly 1.5 million television homes. It’s also one of two markets in the top 20 without multiple permanent teams from MLB, NFL, NBA or NHL — the other being Orlando.
The popularity of the Sacramento Kings, despite making the playoffs just once since 2006, has made observers believe more teams could thrive here. Sacramento has often metered among the top television markets for 49ers games. The A’s sold out their series when they hosted the Giants and popularity juggernaut New York Yankees.
All of which has led to Republic FC building its new stadium, Sacramento State wanting to elevate its football program to the FBS with a new stadium at Cal Expo, and now with the McCarty’s initiative to lure Major League Baseball permanently on the back of the A’s stay in West Sacramento.
“I think we can do all simultaneously,” McCarty said. “This is a real opportunity for us. It’s not just for fame, to make us feel good. This will help grow our economy and bring more business to the city of Sacramento.”
This story was originally published October 20, 2025 at 1:00 PM.
