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The last MLB franchise to relocate was the Montreal Expos. The former Canadian team moved to the United States and became the Washington Nationals. The move was announced in September 2004, and the franchise began playing in Washington in 2005.
Initially, the Expos and the Minnesota Twins would be downsized from the league. Instead, the way things shook out, all issues were resolved, and the result was Montreal losing the Expos and Washington gaining the Nationals.
Fans may not have been thrilled, but at least in the end, it was a smooth transition from one season to the next. The same can not be said about what happened with Oakland Athletics.
The Athletics have played in the Oakland Coliseum for 57 years. Owner John Fisher wanted a new stadium built in Oakland but could not agree with the city. Despite fans clamoring for him to sell the team, Fisher instead moved the franchise to a new stadium and eventually to a new state.
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Where are the Oakland A’s moving to?
The A’s are moving to Las Vegas, Nevada.
Plans to build a baseball stadium for the A’s to play in are underway, but it isn’t expected to be completed for several years. In the meantime, the Athletics will spend at least the next three years playing in Sacramento.
The A’s played their final home game in Oakland on Sept. 26, defeating the Rangers 3-2 in front of a sell-out crowd.
Thank you, Oakland Coliseum 💚💛 pic.twitter.com/8l4ER08UTp
— Oakland A’s (@Athletics) September 26, 2024
When are the A’s moving to Las Vegas?
The Athletics are expected to start playing in Las Vegas in 2028. However, these plans are still tentative, as construction on the new stadium has yet to begin.
The Las Vegas stadium is expected to hold 33,000 people and provide “an outdoor feel with views of the city’s skyline.”
“The outfield features the world’s largest cable-net glass window, facing the corner of Tropicana and Las Vegas Boulevards,” the A’s write. “The ballpark is currently designed to include an 18,000-square-foot videoboard, which would make it the largest screen in MLB.”
The A’s will remain in Sacramento through the 2027 season.
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Where will the A’s play in 2025?
The Athletics will spend next season playing home games in Sacramento. There is not currently an MLB stadium there, and the A’s will instead play at Sutter Health Park.
Sutter Health Park has served as the home of the San Francisco Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats. Coincidentally, the current plan is for the River Cats to share the stadium with the Athletics.
Sutter Health Park capacity
Sutter Health Park has a total capacity of 14,014. There are 10,624 permanent seats and some grass areas where fans can sit on the lawn to watch the games.
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Will Athletics still be called Oakland A’s?
The team is not rebranding and adopting Sacramento as its city, keeping Oakland, or preliminarily adding Las Vegas. As things stand, the team will simply be known as “The Athletics” or “The A’s.”