Last visit: April 25, 2025
I teach at a business school. At one point the Oakland Athletics were a case study in fan management, and being creative on smaller budgets. If they’re a case study today, it would be as an example of what NOT to do.
The whole move out of the Coliseum feels bungled. Howard Terminal could have and should have worked. There’s plenty of blame to go around between local Oakland politicians and A’s owner John Fisher for this not getting done.
It seemed as if the franchise, and to some extent MLB, wanted to be in Vegas all along. But count me among the growing skeptics of this ever happening. Unlike football, baseball relies on the local fan base rather than tourists. Las Vegans hate traveling to the Strip and seem generally apathetic towards baseball. I wish ill-will on no one, but I doubt Vegas will work. And I think people know that. Would it shock me if Vegas does NOT end up being The Athletics home? No.
So at the risk of wearing the tin foil hat, was the Sacramento move just a marriage of convenience because Fisher knows Vivek Ranadivé (the owner of the Sacramento Rivercats and perhaps the best guy to have on your side in order to make their temporary Sacramento home available)? Or was it a test balloon to see if Sacramento could support a MLB franchise?
Problem is, it’s an unfair test. Sutter Health Park is a minor league ballpark charging major league prices. In fact, because of the limited capacity, tickets are outright expensive on the primary market. The stadium itself offers nothing to really “Wow” fans to come. It may be a little better than the Coliseum, but that’s a low bar. As such, early in 2025, empty seats were plentiful; a bad look for such a small venue, and an unfair blight against Sacramento as a Big League town.
The experience is very minor league. While capacity is listed as 14.014, there are only 10,624 permanent seats; the rest are on the lawn or in the social areas. While the beer selection is pretty good, everything else about the park feels AAA; it’s not right seeing fans bring in their own lawn chairs to a Major League Baseball game! As I compare this park to the one-year temporary rental in Tampa by the Rays, I’m not sure it’s much better. Given that it’s going to be home for three or four seasons, that’s an issue.
STADIUM 29/50
Exterior aesthetics. 5/10; Interior aesthetics 8/10; Sightlines 5/5; Seating 4/5; Traffic flow 4/5; Scoreboard 6/10; Amenities & entertainment 1/5; Bars and restaurants 3/5; Celebrating history 1/5; Grand entrance 2/5; Sense of place 12/25; WOW factor 7/10. Total 58 points divided by 2 for 29.
Have you been to a minor league AAA ballpark? Then you’ve basically been to Sutter Health Park. I left having a good time, because it was baseball, but there was nothing that really stood out about the facility itself. There’s not the killer panoramic view despite the Tower Bridge being nearby; had they twisted the park a little more, the view may have been better for the fans (I’m guessing there may have been sun issues though). You can’t walk all the way around the ballpark: the outfield has two dead ends. There are a few social areas, but many are often booked by corporate entities making them inaccessible to fans on certain nights. Really, it just feels like a generic AAA ballpark.
THE GOOD:
- Minor league ballparks are smaller and therefore easier to navigate. Lines were shorter for everything.
- There aren’t many bad seats. Everything is close to the field.
- You can see the field from the concourse. So if you have an outfield seat and want to sneak an infield view for a bit, it’s possible.
- The dark green color scheme of the seats, which is a standard baseball trope, works well for the Athletics.
- The A’s ponied up for a larger scoreboard given they’ll be here for a while. While it’s not a top board by MLB standards, it’s amazing for a Minor League ballpark.
- Traffic was a breeze given crowds are only between 9,000-14,000.
- Like in Tampa, there’s a bit of a “Wow” factor seeing baseball in a venue this small
- It’s an open-air stadium with lush green grass, although they may need to replace the turf regularly given the wear and tear of having two teams call the place home.
THE BAD:
- The exterior is nice enough but underwhelming. Most of the ballpark is built below street level, so the structure is decidedly unimposing for the outside. Were it not for the towering light stands, you wouldn’t know there’s a ballpark in the neighborhood just by walking by.
- There’s little shade. This wasn’t a concern for my early-season game, but will be later in the year. West Coast teams often have to play more day games to allow the opposition proper “getaway” time, so this may be an issue in the summer.
- The overall aesthetic vibe to me says “SIMS ballpark”. There’s not much of note in the architecture. And that which is notable is not necessarily good. For instance, there are several large trees in the outfield seating area. Their shade is nice, but the obstructed views are not.
- The place is a temporary home. So, there’s little “Athletics”-specific iconography. There’s no area celebrating the history of the A’s. It may be unfair to judge a park for something that it wasn’t built to do, but compared to other venues, it feels temporary (because it IS temporary).
- Amenities are minor league. The kids’ area is janky. The concessions are more spartan. The “swish” High Roller areas are not the same as the best of The Bigs. While they have a couple of social areas such as the Elysian Brewing Landing, they’re meh. And did I mention the trees in the seating area in the outfield creating obstructed views?
Is it fair to compare a Minor League ballpark that cost $46.5 million to build to the billion-dollar Major League cathedrals? Maybe not. But that’s a John Fisher problem, not mine.
FOOD 5/10
An issue with minor league facilities is that they lack the cooking capacity of MLB venues. So the food tends to be more basic.
That said, the A’s do a decent job within the (self-imposed) limitations.
The SacTown Smokehouse offers decent barbecue. The Miller bacon-wrapped hot dog featuring roasted jalapenos, pinto beans, crema and pico de gallo on a Martin’s potato bun. came over from the Coliseum and remains one of MLB’s better dogs. The Pastrami Fry from Coop and Kennel Pub looked pretty good. The Mexican dishes from Oso’s, particularly the burritos, may not be the best Mexican ever, but beats fast food options.
On the flip side, the pizza was ballpark pizza, and most of the other options were standard fare at inflated MLB prices.
My personal fave was a bright spot. The Merlino’s Orange Freeze was a delight. Light, fluffy, refreshing and palette cleansing. It’s the perfect ballpark second course anywhere, and will be a Godsend on those hot Sacramento summer games.
There are a couple of decent food options, but the Merlino Orange freeze may be the best thing here.
Great beer is (sometimes) available (Notice the disconnected Pliny the Elder tap laying on the counter).
BEER 7/10
With all the great beer offered in NoCal, the A’s were always well ahead of the curve in offering top flight beer at the stadium. While other parks have caught up (and even passed), I salute the A’s for recognizing that paying big money for a beer is easier when it’s a high-quality beer.
That said, the beer selection also proved to be one of the biggest letdowns of the ballpark and perhaps ANY ballpark. I went to a beer station and saw a Pliny the Elder beer tap. But it wasn’t attached. It seems as if Pliny only is on tap for SOME of the series. As is Russian River STS Pils and Happy Hops. That’s like seeing Selma Hayak’s bra on the floor, but topless Selma is nowhere to be found! Russian River beers on tap at a ballpark would make this a 9/10 score automatically. But you were a tease, Sutter Health Park. A Goddamn tease!
That said, there were some consolations prizes. Racer 5 IPA from Bear Republic was on tap and is a Top 10 MLB beer in its own right. Elysian, owned by A-B, sponsored a porch and had its goodies there. Local brewer Device Brewing offers its delicious Curious Haze. Local brewer Urban Roots had a tap. And Humble Sea had some stuff as well.
Macros from Modelo and Kona Brewing also are readily available, as are the now-ubiquitous seltzers.
Given the limited stands, they do a better job here than Tampa, and frankly, a few other MLB stadiums. But oh that tease!
NEIGHBORHOOD 6/10
This is a tough score. If you include everything within a half-hour walk, this score is pretty damn good. If you include everything within a 10-minute walk, it’s very weak. I’ll give it a middling score as a result.
Old Sacramento is just across the Tower bridge and has a bunch of cool stuff, though it’s a bit of a hike. There are some cool venues within a comfortable walk of the park, but they aren’t clustered: a cool brewhouse south, a good pre-game bar north, etc.
I’ll give it this: if the weather isn’t too hot and you don’t mind walking, you can have a lot of fun without a car in the area. I just wish it was more concentrated and a little closer to the ballpark.
COST 2/5
Tickets are pricy if you buy from the team. Concessions are MLB-average. Parking ranges from $20 to $40. But it feels more expensive because you’re in a Minor League venue. And compared to the deals you got in Oakland, it feels worse.
ACCESSIBILITY 3/5
You could take light rail to downtown Sacramento then a bus to West Sac. But odds are you’re driving. Fortunately, game day traffic isn’t that bad near the ballpark (though I-80 can be a real bitch if you time it poorly.)
WEATHER 3/5
You’ll likely never be rained out and will get good weather early more than bad. But Sacramento gets hot. In 2024, there were 45 days over 100 degrees, and the place averages 90 days over 90 degrees. This will make day games hard.
VIBE 12/25
I always gave Oakland credit for having a good vibe at their games despite the small crowds. You had people waving flags and playing instruments in the bleachers, Krazy George starting The Wave, and Banjo Man roaming with his 4-string and propellor hats. There was a nice mix of characters, baseball fanatics and lunatics at the Coliseum. Sutter Health Park was vanilla. It was a polite crowd, but lacked the intensity of the die-hards who showed up in Oakland. This is totally fair. Sacramento has essentially been told not to get attached to the team as it’s leaving in a few years.
Truth is, there were many empty seats when I went; MANY more empty seats than I saw in Tampa’s temporary park. In fairness, I got a game against the awful White Sox, a team whose fans aren’t traveling right now. And it was early season with the kids still in school. But it was a Friday night on a nice 62-degree night, and I guarantee there actual crowd was under 8,000. To boot, people who bought expensive season and partial season ticket packages are taking a bath. I bought my infield box seat on the secondary market for $45 that would have cost $108 at the box office.
I want to come back a few times to firm up my rating, and perhaps catch a game when Pliny is pouring. But as of now it’s a pretty ordinary experience other than the fact that you’ll be crazy close at an MLB game regardless of where you sit.
GALLERY
OTHER THINGS TO DO
Three fun East Bay restaurants:
- Zocalo (Midtown): Deemed one of the, if not THE best Mexican restaurants in town.
- Tipsy Putt (Downtown): Located by the basketball arena, this place offers indoor mini-putt, pub grub, and a decent tap list for a fun night out.
- Fanny Ann’s Saloon (Old Sac): A 12-minute walk over the Tower Bridge is this eclectic 5-story Wild West bar that’s a part vintage arcade, part burger joint, part taphouse, and part “very fun”.
Three places to imbibe before the game:
- Drake’s: The Barn (West Sac). A short 10-minute walk south of the ballpark is a really cool space with tons of outdoor seating, lawn games, good beer, and decent bites.
- Burgers and Brew (West Sac): A 15-minute walk north of the ballpark lies this regional chain offering a great taplist and some impressive sandwiches.
- Dive Bar (Downtown): Not really a pre-game haunt, but has to be mentioned because they have nightly mermaid shows in a 7,500 gallon tank.
One bar “in the area” worth hitting:
Russian River Brewing. About 60 miles as the crow flies, but a 100-minute drive from Sacramento (in light traffic), this Santa Rosa brewery is perhaps my favorite brewpub in the country (at the very least, in the top 2 after Tree House in New England). The Full Paddle beer flight is easily the best beer flight you’ll ever have, allowing you to explore 20+ brews, many of them exceptional, in both American and Belgian styles. Food’s just OK, but the beer is transcendent. Hopefully you’re staying in the area to do some wine touring the next day
Three craft breweries in the area worthy of your time:
- Alaro Craft Brewery (Midtown). A nice, almost classy space serving up Spanish-style tapas and the award-winning Catillo IPA. Close to Mattie Groves and the Sacramento outpost of Berkeley-based Fieldworks Brewing for a great 1-2-3 punch.
- Moksa Brewing (Rocklin). A great range of styles including hoppy, crispy and stout. While out here, also check out the highly-acclaimed Shred Beer Company.
- Urban Roots Brewery & Smokehouse (Downtown). Good BBQ and even better beer.
Three fun tourist attractions in the area:
- Old Sacramento: Feel like you stepped back in time in this preserved area of town filled with restaurants, bars and even Underground mini golf with its Gold Rush theme. If trains are your bag, the California State Railroad Museum is here.
- Napa. World-class wineries worthy of a few days if that’s your bag. If you’d rather stay closer (and drink more affordably), Lodi is home to 85 wineries and is only about 45 minutes away.
- Mystique Dining (Folsom): Classic dinner and a show. Dine well in an elaborate chamber, and then see a 45-minute close up magic performance by dudes so tricky, you’ll guess they’re Wiccans.
SUMMARY
Sutter Health Park is a solid Minor League facility. But it suffers from it’s “temporariness”. And as a Major League guy, I want spectacle and gravitas, and this place can only offer so much.
Might this team someday play in a shiny cathedral in Vegas? Maybe. Or perhaps in Portland at Tilikum Crossing or at the Utah State Fair. But for the next few years, they’ll be here in Sacramento. And while the A’s aren’t using the city name for now, I will.
There’s enough to do in the area to make a little vacation of it, so why not? In many ways, it’s better than the Coliseum, and it gives MLB Stadium Chasers a new city to explore. Not bad for the “second worst park” in MLB baseball.
