OAKLAND — Utah wanted the A's, but in the end, the A's didn't want Utah.
After a brief courtship in which Salt Lake City pitched the idea of temporarily hosting the Oakland A's before the club officially moves to Las Vegas, the team announced Thursday it is instead heading to Sacramento.
Starting next season, the A's will play at Sutter Health Park in California's capitol city. The franchise will play in Sacramento for three years, with an option for a fourth, until a new stadium is built in Las Vegas.
"We extend our appreciation to the Kings and the City of West Sacramento, and look forward to making Sutter Health Park our home until our new ballpark opens in Las Vegas," said much-disparaged A's owner John Fisher.
Salt Lake City was seen as an option to host the A's, even welcoming team officials to northern Utah for a visit. The franchise even made it known that it preferred to play in the new stadium being built in the Daybreak neighborhood instead of Smith's Ballpark where the Bees currently play.
With hopes of bringing Major League Baseball to Salt Lake City on a full-time basis, temporarily hosting the A's was seen a good way to show the area's passion for the sport.
In February, the Larry H. Miller Company unveiled plans for a new baseball stadium in the Power District on Salt Lake City's west side, with the Miller family investing more that $3.5 billion into the project.
Despite the A's announcement, the Larry H. Miller Company said it still intends to go full throttle in bringing baseball to northern Utah.
"Our proven and ready ownership group and broad-based coalition is fully committed to bringing an MLB expansion team to the Power District on Salt Lake City’s west side," the company said in a statement. "We are grateful and encouraged that Utah was viewed as a potential host and solution for the Athletics, and we will continue to demonstrate that we are the ideal MLB expansion market."
