Changing the Narrative: Sacramento’s Big-League Bid
Sacramento has long carried an underdog label. Barry Broome, founder and CEO of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, believes it’s time for the region to shed that perception.
“For too long as a community, we’ve allowed Sacramento to be put in a corner, and we’ve accepted it because we’re not bold enough or aggressive enough,” Broome said.
On May 28 at Drake’s: The Barn in West Sacramento’s River District, Broome joined City of Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty, baseball legend Dusty Baker, Fulcrum Property Group Founder and Chairman Mark Friedman, and other community figures to deliver a singular message: California’s capital is ready to host a permanent Major League Baseball team.
What many outside the region view as a long shot doesn’t look that way to Broome and the rest of The Sacramento Pitch, a group of 12 civic voices chaired by Friedman that has built a compelling case for the city as one of MLB’s next expansion destinations.
“If you took the name Sacramento off, you’d believe it,” Broome said.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has said he hopes to have a plan in motion to add two expansion teams before his expected retirement in 2029; one in the East and one in the West. That possibility has sparked a competition among cities eager to make their case.
Sacramento is viewed as the latest contender for the race for the western expansion team. Other hopefuls include Vancouver, which launched an official push this year; Portland, whose Portland Diamond Project dates back to 2017; and Salt Lake City, whose Big League Utah initiative formed in 2023.
“If we win the competition for a $4.5 billion entertainment asset, the way I say it is, nobody will ever have to spell our name again. This would be the defining moment for this community,” Broome said.
With an ambitious group of local leaders behind the effort, the question is what will make their bid stand out.
The answer, The Sacramento Pitch argues, is that the region already has much of what MLB is looking for. The group has secured a shovel-ready, 50-acre site for the proposed stadium, just a short walk from Sutter Health Park, along with nearly $2 billion in public-private investment to cover the league’s mandatory expansion fee.
The numbers strengthen the case. According to Sports Business Journal and 2025–2026 Nielsen data, Sacramento ranks as the nation’s 20th-largest media market – the largest with only one permanent Big Five professional sports team – ahead of both Portland (23rd) and Salt Lake City (27th).
Then there’s the advantage no other expansion hopeful can claim. While the Athletics await a permanent home in Las Vegas, West Sacramento has become MLB’s proving ground. The team sold out its season-ticket allotment months before Opening Day 2025, demonstrating strong local demand while giving the league a firsthand look at what major league baseball can look like in Sacramento.
The group also points to the region’s population growth over the past decade, which has outpaced both California and the nation, as another sign the market is ready for a major league franchise.
The most recognizable face among the initiative’s dozen members, Dusty Baker played and managed across 45 professional baseball seasons, from being drafted in 1968 through his final managerial season in 2023. During that time, he witnessed the addition of multiple expansion teams and the impact they had on the communities that landed them.
“I’ve seen what it’s done to the cities. I’ve seen what it’s done to the pride of a city. I’ve seen what it’s done economically,” Baker said. “This is a baseball town, and there’s enough industry and money here, and plenty of property to build a stadium.”
There are still hurdles the effort must clear, including securing a primary ownership group. But the push comes at a time when Sacramento’s case as a top-tier sports market has never been stronger.
Sacramento Republic FC is building the region’s largest professional sports venue, Sacramento State athletics have never enjoyed greater visibility, and the Kings have shown what is possible when Sacramento embraces a major-league franchise.
For those behind The Sacramento Pitch, the pursuit is about more than adding another team to the city’s sports landscape. It is about changing the way Sacramento sees itself — and how the rest of the country sees it.
“What would happen if Sacramento won the World Series of Major League Baseball in ten years? That can happen. And it happens in places that believe it can happen. This is about: standards – we’re as good as anybody. Belief – we believe in our community. And leadership in action – we will prove it to you who we are. Once that happens a couple of times, we’re going to see this town take off.”
Photos provided by GSEC and YBG.