A’s fan protests coming to West Sacramento this weekend at River Cats-Aviators game

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The fans’ protest of the Oakland Athletics’ ownership will be coming to the team’s future temporary home in West Sacramento this weekend.

Members of the A’s fan groups The Last Dive Bar and Oakland 68s are organizing a protest Saturday at the River Cats game against the Las Vegas Aviators at Sutter Health Park, where the A’s will play for three seasons beginning next year. The groups are urging fans to join as the coalition continues to voice their disapproval of A’s ownership’s plan to move the team out of Oakland.

Last Dive Bar co-founder Bryan Johansen said plans were put in motion to protest in Sacramento the weekend after the A’s announced their plans this month. The Aviators, the visiting team Saturday, are the Triple-A affiliate of the A’s while the River Cats are the top minor league team for the San Francisco Giants.

“I was already looking at the schedule saying, when can we come up there?” Johansen said Thursday. “When can we come up there and make our presence known, make our presence felt? ... We thought it was the perfect game to come up there and bring the ‘Sell’ movement to Sacramento.”

Athletics owner John Fisher and Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé announced April 4 that the Major League Baseball team will temporarily move to Sutter Health Park, a minor league stadium in West Sacramento, beginning in 2025 through 2027. There’s an option for a fourth season in 2028, which is when the team says it plans to open its new stadium on the Las Vegas strip.

Ranadivé purchased the River Cats and control of Sutter Health Park in 2022 from Susan Savage, whose family owned the team when it came to Sacramento in 2000. Ranadivé said at the announcement the A’s coming to Sacramento would be a chance to showcase the city for a possible expansion team, though many hurdles remain in the way of Major League Baseball coming to the capital region permanently beyond the A’s stay.

“I think it’s disgusting,” Johansen said of Ranadivé partnering with Fisher to move the A’s to West Sacramento, even temporarily. “I think for somebody like Vivek that’s supposed to be somebody that saved (the Kings from moving to Seattle) — for him to undercut Oakland’s offer and completely uproot that team for his own selfish reasons of thinking Sacramento would get an expansion team, I think it’s vile.”

The Last Dive Bar and Oakland 68s have partnered on numerous fan events to protest Fisher and his moving of the team out of Oakland. The groups organized an independent fan fest in February, drawing thousands to Oakland’s Jack London Square after the team decided against a sanctioned event. The groups also put together reverse boycotts the past two seasons where thousands camped out in the Coliseum’s parking lot rather than going into the ballpark. Their movement is visualized by kelly green shirts and signs that say, “Sell.”

The temporary move to Sacramento came after the A’s and Oakland officials failed to agree on a lease extension to continue playing at the dilapidated Oakland Coliseum after this season while the team announced its plans to build in Las Vegas.

Ranadivé believes the A’s coming to Sacramento makes California’s capital city a viable expansion candidate. Commissioner Rob Manfred has indicated he would like the league to expand from 30 to 32 teams before the end of the decade. Other cities under consideration include Charlotte, North Carolina; Nashville; Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City; Montreal; and San Antonio.

“I’ve been in touch with the commissioner and I’ve gotten to know him, Rob Manfred, and they will be creating a new team,” Ranadivé told reporters April 4. “They want it to be on the West Coast, they’d love for it to be in California. And I think this is a great showcase for us. We can prove that there’s a market here, and that we can make the team successful. I think we’re in pole position to get the new franchise.”

“There’s no guarantee,” Ranadivé continued. “We have to show what we can do. I have complete confidence that if we set our mind to something, this is an incredible city, we have the best fans in the world and at the end of the day, the best fans in the world will make it happen.”

The A’s during their 13 home games this season are last in attendance, averaging 6,243 per game. Sutter Health Park seats 14,000 including the general admission lawn seating in the outfield. They have ranked last in attendance for the past three seasons. On the field, the team is 119-230 since the start of 2022.

First pitch for Saturday’s game is slated for 6:37 p.m.