The Athletics announced on April 4 the baseball team will move from Oakland, their home since 1968, and play in Sacramento for the 2025-2027 seasons, according to the Major League Baseball website.

The three-season residency will be played at Sutter Health Park, home of the River Cats minor league team, while the Athletics’ permanent stadium in Las Vegas is being constructed, according to the website.

Ten students at Cosumnes River College shared their opinions on what having an MLB team in Sacramento means to them and how they think it will affect the city.

“I’m excited. I’ll get to watch baseball games and they’ll be bringing other teams,” said William Love, a 19-year-old engineering major. “And my family is super excited, so I’m excited for them.”

Almost everyone interviewed had a similar positive reaction to the Athletics relocation, including those who weren’t baseball fans.

Jay Giger, a 24-year-old zoology major, said he “dabbles” in baseball, but is not typically an avid watcher.

“It’s definitely a good thing. We needed a baseball team,” Giger said. “Unfortunate for Oakland, but I heard they weren’t happy with the fans, is what I understood. Hopefully they up their numbers here in Sacramento.”

Sutter Health Park has a capacity of 14,000, less than a quarter of the Oakland Coliseum’s capacity, but the Athletics are currently averaging less than 6,500 fans per home game, according to ESPN.

Cari Lewis, a 24-year-old who was on campus applying to CRC, said it’s a good time for Sacramento to add an MLB team.

“Sacramento is just getting some love right now, the Kings are going crazy,” Lewis said. “And you know, I’ve never been to a River Cats game, but I will definitely be at the River Cats stadium this year to see the A’s.”

The Sacramento River Cats paired with the Athletics could give fans over 150 baseball games per season at Sutter Health, according to the MLB website.

“The more good things that happen, Sacramento starts to feed off that vibe,” Lewis said. “Like when the Kings were doing good last season, that was the most united I’ve ever seen Sacramento.”

Dre Day, a 25-year-old who was also on campus applying to CRC, had a similar reaction.

“The city’s built for this. I’m from Sacramento, so I’ve seen the city way worse than it is right now. It’s looking good right now, it’s come a long way for sure,” Day said.

A few students, however, expressed some concern about how the addition of the Athletics will impact congestion in the area.

“The traffic might be terrible,” said Ryan Plath, a 21-year-old biology major. “Just because I know the River Cats might be even more liked than the Oakland A’s.”

Plath said he would like to see a permanent MLB team in Sacramento, but changes would need to be made to the venue.

“I don’t think the River Cats’ stadium holds up to being an MLB stadium,” Plath said. “So, there would need to be a building of a new one, which can be pretty impactful to the area in general.”