I can’t say for sure when the experiment failed, but it was early in the baseball season. Around the time San Diego Padres fans outnumbered A’s supporters at Sutter Health Park.
Now the goal is to reduce the embarrassment, limit the damage and decide how the community endures another a year or two of A’s baseball without looking ridiculous.
This is what happens when a couple of rich guys pump their egos and advance their business plans by introducing a mediocre product nobody needs.
It’s what happens when owners try to disrupt success with something even better.
For 25 years, the region savored the sublime pleasures of minor league baseball at a jewel box in West Sacramento. The River Cats were fun to watch. Prices were reasonable. Beer was cold.
On summer nights at Sutter Health Park, equilibrium existed between entertainment value and social grace. There was no reason to change a thing.
Along came Vivek Ranadive and John Fisher. They had better ideas.
Ranadive, the Kings’ lead partner, bought the River Cats and their ballpark in 2022. Ranadive is a property developer. His affection for minor-league baseball presumably involves real estate near the Tower Bridge.
Fisher, a Gap clothing heir, needed housing for his Oakland A’s while haggling with Nevada authorities over a new stadium in Las Vegas. Fisher is the most reviled owner in Major League Baseball thanks to his reputation for cheapness and futility.
For Ranadive and Fisher, West Sac would be a safe harbor and launch pad.
By temporarily bunking with the River Cats, Fisher enjoys a rent-free stadium. He rings up the highest ticket prices in baseball, thanks to limited seats—14,000—at his temporary shelter. He keeps most of his Northern California TV money, about $67 million.
Ranadive also profits. He shares A’s ticket revenue with Fisher. And he gains a major league toehold, with dreams of an expansion team.
Meantime, what does the community get?
Before the season, baseball boosters, local politicians and media shills described the A’s as the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to see big league baseball and prove Sacramento finally transcended its small-town image.
The narrative crashed with the first pitch. Visiting teams ridiculed the tiny ballpark. Sportswriters mocked the room set aside for interviews, which resembles a garden shed attached to a tent.
Before the All-Star break, luxurious outfield grass was fading, exhausted by endless games on a field shared by the A’s and River Cats. Fans who bought $250 A’s tickets in hopes of profiting from resale opportunities settled for quarters on the dollar.
Sacramento’s major league experiment backfired.
Blame several miscalculations. First was the belief that local fans love the A’s. They don’t. Never have. Sacramento has been a Giants town since 1958.
The Savage family—Susan Savage sold the River Cats and stadium to Ranadive—dropped the A’s and became the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate in 2014. The move instantly rejuvenated ticket sales.
Another miscalculation was the notion that a minor league ballpark would charm visiting major league teams, making them ignore the provincial, substandard realities of a bush league facility. Social media ridicule took flight on opening day.
Finally came the tease that local enthusiasm about the A’s would convince Major League Baseball to include Sacramento in expansion plans.
In the real world, ticket sales are practically irrelevant. Major League Baseball wants owners who convince cities to finance billion-dollar stadiums and fill them with corporate suites and premium sponsorships.
The A’s experiment proves the elusiveness of gold-plated partnerships on the banks of the Sacramento River. This is a government town, not Silicon Delta.
Here’s an analogy. The reason the Kings didn’t move to Seattle a decade ago was because NBA Commissioner David Stern wanted to save a small-market team.
If anyone thinks baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred shares Stern’s determination to stand up for Sacramento, I’ve got a Tower Bridge to sell you.
R.E. Graswich can be reached at regraswich@icloud.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
