West Sacramento’s Tower Bridge could be the backdrop for a future MLB expansion team as the city is exploring luring a big league team to the market. (Photo by Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images)
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With the A’s recently saying they are on track to open their new state-of-the-art ballpark in Las Vegas in 2028, and the Tampa Bay Rays inching closer to new ballpark plans, MLB expansion talk is heating up. The mayor of West Sacramento confirmed today that the city will explore MLB expansion in the coming months.
With the A’s playing in Sacramento’s Sutter Health Field until their new ballpark is online, the city has been able to gather real information about how a possible MLB expansion team might be received. Today, West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero announced during a State of the City address that the city would be exploring MLB expansion.
“And yes, it’s true, West Sacramento is in dialogue to consider becoming a host to a Major League Baseball expansion team,” Guerrero said.
Guerrero said that the effort would be a collaboration with the larger City of Sacramento.
“I want to say thank you to Mayor McCarty and his team and our city council for the great teamwork in making pitches to boost attendance and the level of sponsorships,” Guerrero said.
A press conference to announce further details of Sacramento’s interest in MLB expansion is scheduled for Thursday, May 28th.
My extensive look at 10 potential MLB expansion markets from April has Sacramento on the list given that West Sacramento hosts the A’s as the transition to Las Vegas. See MLB 32 Team Expansion Timeline And Cities Best Positioned To Land A Franchise
West Sacramento would make sense for several reasons, specifically, Sutter Park Field, which is situated on the Sacramento River in West Sacramento. Mayor Guerrero pointed to the Bridge District as the targeted location for an MLB expansion ballpark site.
“West Sacramento has been thinking about this and had a vision of this for a long time,” said Guerrero. “And we know that that area in the Bridge District is the best place.”
“This community has shown in spades that they are absolutely ready to be a Major League Baseball town, and we are 100 percent behind them,” said D’Lonra Ellis, the Athletics’ chief legal officer and head of the Sacramento transition.
Sacramento has seen population growth, bucking a trend with other California markets such as San Francisco. Many are moving from more expensive markets in the Bay Area to Sacramento due to affordability. According to TeamCalifornia, as of 2025 the population of Sacramento Regional Data is 2,672,688. The population is expected to grow to 2,733,769 by 2030 – a growth rate of 0.45%.
The average household income in Sacramento Regional Data is $129,695 and projected to be $142,964 in 2030. Per capita income is $47,562, projected to be $52,640 in 2030. 6.3% of households – 168,431 – have an income of $200,000 or higher. Average net worth is $1,559,964 and the average disposable income is $94,852.
Major corporate presence in the Sacramento region includes Sutter Health, UC Davis Health, VSP Vision Care, Centene, SMUD, and Intel.