A's Tour Ballpark Site in Utah
The Oakland A's need a place to crash for at least three seasons. Their lease at the Oakland Coliseum expires after the 2024 season, and if things progress smoothly with their planned relocation to Las Vegas, then that new ballpark wouldn't be ready until 2028. That leaves three full seasons of games that the team will need an interim home.
Enter...Utah?
Big League Utah, a "broad-based community coalition" that is attempting to land a MLB franchise in Utah, released the following statement on Friday afternoon.
First, some context. There is a new ballpark being built in Daybreak, Utah that is meant to house the Triple-A Salt Lake City Bees club, an affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. What this statement is saying is that the A's could play in the brand new ballpark while the Bees remain at Smith's Ballpark in Salt Lake City. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, the A's did not tour Smith's Ballpark.
The new ballpark, set to open in 2025, is set to have a capacity of 7,500, but there would be additional temporary structures added to raise that to 11,000 should the A's decide to play there. The venue is said to be bigger than Smith's, have two batting cages, more clubhouse space, and an area for the umpires to get ready.
Of all of the sites the A's currently have to weigh, the Utah option may be the best one. That said, it would also eliminate all of their RSN revenue in their deal with Comcast Sports California which is said to be $67 million per season. In terms of fit, Utah checks some boxes. In terms of maximizing revenue, there may be other, better options for the club.
The city of Daybreak is about 30 minutes south of Salt Lake City and has a population of about 43,500 people. Salt Lake County has a population of about 1.186 million, roughly half of the population of Clark County in Nevada where the A's are planning to move. In terms of going from a large media market to a smaller one, this would be another step down the market size ladder.
One thing that this potential move has going for it is that there are not other sports options in Utah in the summer. Once basketball and hockey seasons are over, the A's could potentially have free rein over the region, unlike if they chose Sacramento with the Giants still a (long-ish) car ride away. There would also be pushback to the A's playing in Sacramento after the people there nearly lost the NBA's Kings a decade ago. Many Kings fans are also A's fans and there just wouldn't be full-fledged support in Sacramento like there could be in Daybreak. The people of Utah also likely own fewer "SELL" shirts.
A move to Utah could settle things down around the franchise with the Bay Area media that has been covering the entire relocation for the past number of years further away. It could all come down to whether or not A's owner John Fisher is willing to forgo that television money.
According to Big League Utah's website, "Utah is a 5-tool player for its growth, economy, location, sports culture, and quality of life. The coalition has targeted a shovel-ready site for a new MLB ballpark at the 100-acre Rocky Mountain Power District in Salt Lake City." If the A's choose to play in Daybreak, Utah could get their opportunity to land a big-league expansion team in the coming years. Not because the fans show up in droves, but because they were willing to play ball with MLB when they really needed a win.