A’s owner John Fisher talks Sacramento excitement and whether he’d sell the team
John Fisher, clad in an old green Athletics jacket and hat, sat in the sunshine Monday on top of his team’s new clubhouse in Sutter Health Park and expressed excitement about the temporary digs, albeit in a 14,000-capacity minor league stadium in West Sacramento.
“Opening day is unique, wherever you are,” the A’s owner said in a rare scrum with four reporters before the A’s home opener. “It’s a very hopeful time.”
Fisher’s hope comes at a time when many, if not most, A’s fans are gutted by his decision to take his team out of Oakland where it won four World Series during its 57-year stay.
The temporary fix of the organization’s long-standing stadium issue is California’s capital region, where the A’s will stay for at least three years while they await construction of a $1.75 billion domed stadium on the Las Vegas strip they hope to open in 2028.
And during their stay in West Sacramento, the Athletics have not adopted the city name as part of their official team name. They’ve officially asked to be called simply the Athletics or A’s, with their official acronym being “ATH.” They’re currently the only team in major North American professional sports without a city or region attached to their moniker.
Additionally, the A’s have a deal with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority: they’ll wear a “Las Vegas” patch on their jerseys for the three years while they’re slated to play in West Sacramento.
Fisher was asked what his response would be to Sacramento locals miffed at the idea of not calling the team the Sacramento A’s despite using the region as its home.
“It’s professional baseball,” he said. “It doesn’t get any better than this. It’s the Athletics against the Chicago Cubs in front of 14,000 people. Which, people are saying, ‘Oh, it’s a minor league ballpark.’ I’m like, ‘This is the most intimate, positive experience that anybody can have in Major League Baseball today.’
“I would say this is awesome, and it’s a beautiful day.”
Sell the team?
Fisher was part of the group that bought the A’s in 2005 and assumed full control when Lew Wolff sold his share to Fisher in 2016. The vast majority of Fisher’s ownership has been spent trying to find a stadium solution in the Bay Area. The most recent attempt came at Howard Terminal near Jack London Square in Oakland in 2023 before announcing their intentions to move to Las Vegas.
And instead of extending their lease at the Oakland Coliseum to continue his fractured relationship with local officials and fans, Fisher partnered with Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé, who owns the River Cats, to host the A’s at West Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park.
The saga has led to many A’s fans imploring Fisher to sell the team. He was asked Monday if he ever considered it, and his reasoning for moving forward with moving the franchise.
“From the beginning, I’ve been committed to having this team be successful for the next 50 years,” Fisher said. “And I really saw that as (an) important part of what I stood for and what I wanted to achieve for this team. And so really, everything that I’ve done, the work that we did in the Bay Area, the work that we did in Oakland, and ultimately moving things forward in Las Vegas and here in Sacramento, were part of where I think the team needs to go to be successful.”
Regarding Las Vegas, Fisher said “I hope so” when asked if construction would begin on the Las Vegas stadium this summer. The plan is to build on 9 acres on the former site of the Tropicana Hotel, which was demolished last October.
“We’ve finalized all of our plans,” Fisher said. “We’re going through our processes with different agencies, including the County Commission, which has to sort of approve the project. And so we’re close. We really moved at an incredible pace in terms of getting these things done and achieved and designed, yeah.
“We’re in a good place.”
This story was originally published March 31, 2025 at 6:09 PM.
