Will the Oakland A’s help the city of Sacramento’s looming budget deficit?

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The city of Sacramento’s looming deficit in the coming years could see some relief when a major league baseball team starts playing across the river.

During a news conference Thursday, hours after the A’s announced they’d temporarily play in West Sacramento’s minor league baseball stadium, Mayor Darrell Steinberg said the economic impact for his city will be “huge.”

“The geographic proximity, obviously, to West Sacramento is just a bridge,” Steinberg said, standing behind a podium in council chambers, an A’s baseball hat perched in front of him. “They have a lot of assets, obviously, so do we. I mean the restaurants, the hotels, all of the activity we have going on on our side. I just think I have no doubt this is going to be a major economic impact.”

The additional tax revenue won’t take effect in time to help shrink the looming $66 million projected budget deficit for the fiscal year that starts July 1. However, it could help with the projected deficit for the fiscal year that starts July 1, 2025. That deficit is forecasted to be $111 million but will likely change as the City takes steps to address the shortfall for the coming fiscal year.

“The city anticipates that the A’s playing at Sutter Health Park will positively impact sales tax and transient occupancy tax in Sacramento,” city spokesman Tim Swanson said. “The city currently does not have estimates for these impacts, but any increase in revenue is welcome as the city works to address its pending budget deficit.”

The amount of revenue that the A’s help the city earn partly depend on the team’s performance. The Sacramento Kings playoff run in the 2022-23 season did positively impact the city of Sacramento budget, Assistant City Manager Leyne Milstein told the council during a meeting last year.

What will the A’s mean for West Sacramento’s budget?

Some A’s fans will stay on the West Sacramento side for their pre- and post-game drinks and dinners. There are about nine restaurants in walking distance to the stadium without crossing the bridge. They range from the popular Drake’s the Barn brewery to smaller spots for tacos, burgers and teriyaki.

West Sacramento will also get additional parking revenue from street parking, a city parking lot and a parking lot at the pyramid-shaped Ziggurat.

Unlike its neighbor across the river, West Sacramento does not have a looming deficit. Mayor Martha Guerrero said she would like to allocate any additional revenue the city receives toward infrastructure improvements as well as the fire department.

“Our city’s infrastructure (roads, public transit and bike/pedestrian paths) are a priority especially with our growth from the business community and housing,” Guerrero said in an email Thursday. “We need to make sure our first responders have the resources they need to support this growth and cover the needs of our unsheltered people who can’t afford the cost of housing.”

The city is also working to build more affordable housing, and some of the people who live in the city’s current affordable housing work at the stadium, so its a “win-win,” Guerrero added.