Some diehard baseball fans in sports-crazed Sacramento welcome Athletics and hope they stay awhile

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Van Thompson walked through the busy concourse shortly before first pitch and sang along to the national anthem, a white Athletics ball cap in hand covering his heart.

Earlier Wednesday morning, Susan Falcon took her dog out on the other side of town near a bustling coffee shop and raved about the positive vibe the A's have brought to California's sports-crazed capital city in such a short time.

On the fly, former minor league pitcher Jarod Pavese packed up two of his three daughters and the boyfriend of one and headed north from Southern California's Riverside County for a last-minute spring break trip to cheer their Chicago Cubs in the series finale.

“It was very spontaneous. We try to be as spontaneous as we can but not really,” 17-year-old high school senior Gianna Pavese said, sitting with her boyfriend Gavinn Schulze, dad and 12-year-old sister Kat in row 10 of section 104 on a sunny spring day. “It's really exciting. It was just spur of the moment.”

Despite some kinks still to be worked out, the A’s relocation is providing fans who might not regularly go to games a big new opportunity to see the big leagues live.

After its 57-year Oakland run ended last September in a painful split for fans — many of them lifelong A's supporters — the club has insisted this stay in West Sacramento will be temporary until a new stadium in Las Vegas is supposed to be ready in 2028. The A's even declined to adopt the Sacramento in its official name while here for the next three years — they are simply the Athletics, with no city attached.

That hasn't squashed curiosity or enthusiasm so far.

Bryan Haywood of Bozeman, Montana, attended his first-ever major league game Tuesday at age 46 and was back Wednesday. He and friend and fellow Montanan Chris Anderson of Livingston made the trip to Sacramento.

“It was amazing,” Haywood said.

Thompson lives in Sacramento and is a big fan of the NBA's Kings. He wanted to show his support Wednesday for the new team in town.

“I came with an A’s fan," he said. "I’m a Kings fan, I just came to support the cause.”

Falcon has spoken to plenty of people who plan to cheer the A's, or already have for years and finally get to do so from right nearby.

“Sacramento loves the A's, they're elated, they're so excited, they're going to wear the colors, they're going to show up, they're going to do everything,” she said. “They will be there.”

Business partners Dan Niccum and Ken McGuire are crossing their fingers the A's never leave their new Northern California home. They plan to hold onto their four second-row seats however long the club stays. Niccum doesn't expect the A's to relocate to Las Vegas anytime soon — because “it's a pipe dream what they're doing in Vegas right now” — even though the A's say that will be for the 2028 season.

“They're here for at least four or five years, and so we're here for the duration,” Niccum said. “We are excited to be here.”

How visiting teams feel about playing in a minor league park and how it tests the patience of A's players over time remains to be seen. There were 12 home runs hit, eight by Chicago.

Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson, for one, hardly wants to be one to speak out negatively about the A's new Northern California home. Swanson prefers to be supportive of the situation, to see the glass half-full and just be grateful to play at this level. Even if there are many kinks to be worked out after the initial homestand at Sutter Health Park, where the visiting team's clubhouse is through an opening in the center-field wall.

Swanson's dear friend since their college days at Vanderbilt is A's pitcher Tyler Ferguson, so the Cubs infielder has heard plenty about the progress at Sutter Health Park.

Attendance for the initial three-game set at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento was 31,556 after the opener Monday had a sellout of 12,119.

“Obviously they've done as much as they can in order to make it as best as it can be. Obviously give everyone props for being able to make it happen,” Swanson said. “We all think it might be easier than it is but it's not and everyone's doing the best they can.”

He took time out of his pregame routine Tuesday to sign some autographs. And Swanson figures opposing players might as well stay positive and supportive because there's nothing that can be changed at this stage regarding the A’s playing in a minor league ballpark. The club will share the venue with the San Francisco Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats.

Yet many A's fans are far from ready to let go of nearly six decades of memories in the East Bay. And for the home opener, some sported T-shirts reading “I’d Rather Be At the Oakland Coliseum.”

Manager Mark Kotsay hopes some of them eventually will eventually make the 85-mile trek north. Even after a forgettable first series in which the A's were outscored 35-9.

“I definitely feel the energy. It's tough for them to love us after we performed the way we did," Kotsay said. “But I do think that this city is excited. There's a lot of excitement to bring baseball to this part of California that Major League Baseball hasn't been. ... We also want those that are still in Oakland to make that drive two hours north and come watch us as well.”

A's outfielder Lawrence Butler sat on the podium in a makeshift press conference room with the A's logo behind him on a banner that also said Las Vegas. Butler is in it for the long haul and looks to be a face of the franchise for at least the immediate future, having signed a $65.5 million, seven-year contract last month.

So far, he appreciates how the city has embraced the A's. From popular restaurants, welcoming hotel staff, to supporters on the Sacramento State college campus and folks on the street, there's plenty of chatter about the team.

The iconic yellow Tower Bridge visible beyond right field lit up in green for the first night game in spirit of the new team in town and to give a festive green-and-gold A's vibe.

“Pretty quiet, low-key city, but I've figured out that there's a lot of stuff to do, a lot of good places to eat at. I haven't fully explored all of those places yet," Butler said before Monday's game. "I'm hoping to, but it feels like it's a nice, cool, low-key city. What I've gotten from it is that they really love their sports teams. We're another sports team coming here so I'm pretty sure they'll show out tonight and show us a lot of love.”

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Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson finishes his round of batting practice before a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Marshall)

Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell takes questions from the media before a baseball game against the Athletics, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Marshall)

Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson signs a baseball for a fan before a baseball game against the Athletics, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Marshall)

Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, from left, celebrates with shortstop Dansby Swanson after the team's victory over the Athletics in a baseball game Monday, March 31, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Chicago Cubs' Dansby Swanson reacts after hitting a three-run double against the Athletics during the sixth inning of a baseball game Monday, March 31, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson, right, signs a ball for a young fan before a baseball game against the Athletics, Monday, March 31, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

A keep of the grass sign is posted to help limit the damage to the grass before a baseball game between the Athletics and Chicago Cubs at Sutter Health Park, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Marshall)

Athletics pitcher Luis Severino (40) warms up in the bullpen before a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Marshall)

Athletics' Joey Estes pitches against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, March 31, 2025, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)