A's Haven't Contacted Reno Aces About Interim Home
Last week there was a lot of talk about where the Oakland A's may end up playing their home games from 2025-27 once their lease runs out at the Oakland Coliseum. John Fisher, Dave Kaval, and others took a trip up to Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, and also flew over to South Jordan, Utah to look at a facility that is being constructed as a potential interim home. Maybe Fisher just wanted to see what the construction of a ballpark actually looks like.
As we detailed here last week, both Sacramento and Utah have their own challenges and aren't a perfect fit for the A's two main objectives: Quiet down the narrative surrounding this team and collect their RSN checks. The A's would only receive their full $67 million in RSN payouts if they play in the Bay Area, though a move to Sacramento could see a re-working of that contract to land the team some money. Sacramento may also not be the best place to play if you're actively ripping a team out of their home after what Kings fans endured a decade ago with the Kings nearly moving to Seattle.
Another venue that has been mentioned in the past has been Greater Nevada Field in Reno, where the Aces play in the Pacific Coast League. According to the Reno Gazette Journal, the Reno Aces have not been contacted by the A's about potentially using their ballpark as a home.
Team president Eric Edelstein told the RGJ, "We would welcome the opportunity and certainly believe that Greater Nevada Field is one of the best facilities outside the Major Leagues. We have not received any reach-out. We will be ready when it comes."
The capacity at Greater Nevada Field is 9,013 and the facility opened in 2009. It's also an enjoyable place to watch a ballgame. The park is roughly four hours away from Oakland by car, so definitely a manageable drive for anyone that wanted to go and stage a protest game, which the A's are looking to avoid.
At this point, owner John Fisher is sifting through a bunch of not great options for where his team will end up playing next year while they hope to break ground in Las Vegas. The A's are seemingly using the "parallel paths" tactic once again with Sacramento and Utah while Reno is left sitting by the phone, hoping to be invited to the party.