Sacramento baseball fans and businesses welcome A's
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Oakland A's baseball fans in the Sacramento region were excited and hopeful to hear Oakland A's owner John Fisher announce at a news conference Thursday, that the Athletics are moving their home base to West Sacramento for the next three seasons.
"We used to drive to Oakland...go every Wednesday for the dollar hot dogs and dollar tickets, and you know, it's nice to hear they're going to come here for a couple of seasons. That makes me happy. I'll definitely show up to some more games," Adam Garcia, an A's fan from Dixon said.
As if on cue, the rain eased and clouds parted on Thursday evening, and a rainbow appeared over West Sacramento.
"We're excited to be here for the next three years, playing in the beautiful ballpark, but also being able to watch some of the greatest players in baseball," Fisher said.
Fisher said the A's will be sharing Sutter Health Park with the minor league River Cats team, whose majority owner Vivek Ranadive also owns the Sacramento Kings NBA team.
"What an incredible day. This is epic. This is historic," Ranadive said.
"We embrace you, all of West Sacramento is going to thrive because of your presence," Mayor Martha Guerrero of West Sacramento said.
The smaller setting might be a good fit for the A's who averaged just 10,000 attendees at the 63,000 seat Coliseum last year.
"Much more intimate setting for sure. I think it's about 14,000 people in the stadium there. And I imagine they'll probably fill it up for most of their games," said Isaac Vice, a Sacramento baseball fan who has attended River Cats games.
"I was jumping up and down this morning. I was very, very excited," Jimmy Gayaldo, general manager of the Rio City Cafe in Old Sacramento said.
Gayaldo says he's a lifelong A's fan and recalls going to the Oakland Coliseum with his dad.
"It was a treat. He would take me down to go see games. I know I was at the '72, '73, '74, one of those World Series," Gayaldo said, adding that he still has an A's pennant from that era.
Gayaldo says the games just across the Tower Bridge from Old Sacramento will be a welcome boost to business.
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The owners of both the Oakland Athletics and the Sacramento Kings came together on Thursday morning in West Sacramento for a major announcement.
"Revenue-wise, it's going to be incredible for us. That means there's going to be games at the stadium probably every day between the River Cats and A's," Gayaldo said.
It was sweet news too, for the Candy Heaven candy shop a few doors away.
"I think it's helpful for businesses around here. It brings a lot of people in, a lot of people are happy to go to the game," Adam Niblock, a Candy Heaven employee, said.
"I feel it's kind of a privilege to get major league baseball out here in West Sacramento," Micah Negrete, a 12-year-old West Sacramento Little League pitcher said, "Watching All-stars playing, it's just amazing. It's breathtaking."
His father, Jose Negrete, is President of the West Sacramento Little League teams and says the A's have supported them for years.
"They donate uniforms to our league every season, so we are very happy to have them in our backyard," Negrete said. "There's probably a lot of kids in our community that have never attended a major league baseball game, so we're super excited."
Many people also say they're glad to see it put the Sacramento region on the national map and hope it entices other sports teams and companies to consider the Sacramento area as a place on equal footing with the Bay Area.
"It's going to tell the business community that hey, you can come and invest here," David Dellinger, a Sacramento resident said.
"It also sends a signal to the rest of the country, to other professional sports leagues, to other industry leaders who are wondering where they should think about expanding their companies," Mayor Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento said.
The A's expect to have their new stadium in Las Vegas completed by 2028. If there are any delays, some Sacramento residents say they hope the A's will extend their stay in West Sacramento.