MLB commissioner calls West Sacramento ballpark 'charming' ahead of A's temporary stay

Chris Biderman, The Sacramento Bee on Feb 19, 2025

Published in Baseball

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred toured Sutter Health Park last month before the Athletics are slated to play their first game there in late March, and this week he gave his first public comments about the stadium.

“It was a really positive day,” Manfred said during a news conference Tuesday in Arizona, where spring training games are set to begin Thursday. “I was glad that I took the time to do it before opening day.”

The A’s are planning to play in West Sacramento’s minor league ballpark for the next three or four years while they wait for a new $1.75 billion domed stadium to be built on the Las Vegas strip. The team in the meantime will share Sutter Health Park with the Triple-A River Cats, the top minor league affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.

Vivek Ranadivé, who owns the Kings and the River Cats, has said he hopes partnering with the A’s while they play in West Sacramento will help the capital region lure an expansion franchise should MLB grow beyond its current 30 teams, which is expected in the coming years.

The Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto media market ranks 20th in the country, according to Nielsen, while the A’s future home in Las Vegas ranks 40th (their former home in the Bay Area ranks 10th). Charlotte, Nashville, Montreal and Portland are among the candidates for expansion teams.

Manfred expressed optimism about what he’s seen from Sacramento ahead of the A’s first games there.

“I think that the level of excitement in the community is really palpable,” Manfred told reporters Tuesday. “I think their desire to have Major League Baseball in the short term and in the long term is really impressive. I think the owners of the River Cats and the owners of the A’s have worked very hard, together, to make sure that for our players it is as close to a major league experience as it can possibly be. There’s a lot of investment done in facilities that you just would not have done otherwise.”

The A’s will play their first game in West Sacramento on March 31 when they host the Chicago Cubs. The team has sold out its premium and standard season tickets for 2025 after ranking 30th in attendance during the last three seasons in Oakland.

Where do A’s fit in Sacramento major sports scene?

The Kings are the region’s only team across the NFL, NBA and MLB, while the Sacramento Republic FC soccer team has long had eyes on jumping to the MLS and is planning a new stadium north of downtown in the Railyards.

“They want it to be on the West Coast, they’d love for it to be in California,” Ranadivé said last April about discussions with Manfred regarding MLB expansion. “And I think this is a great showcase for us. We can prove that there’s a market here, and that we can make the team successful. I think we’re in pole position to get the new franchise.”

The A’s abruptly left Oakland after 57 seasons when the club decided against extending its lease at the Oakland Coliseum after years of increasing ticket prices while regularly being among the lowest spending teams in baseball.

Manfred toured Sutter Health Park in late January. Ranadivé during a closed-door event implored Manfred to consider expanding MLB into Northern California’s “mega region” of roughly 10 million people, according to audio from the event shared with The Sacramento Bee. Ten million is roughly the combined population of the Sacramento and Bay Area metropolitan areas.

Sutter Health Park is currently being renovated to accommodate the A’s while they share the ballpark with the River Cats. A new major league clubhouse is being built beyond left field, while other improvements and amenities are being added to the dugouts, bullpens, media areas and premium clubs areas for fans.

With a capacity of 14,000 including 10,000 fixed seats, Sutter Health Park will be the second smallest full-time venue in MLB. The only smaller home field will be Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, the spring training home of the New York Yankees, which will host the Tampa Bay Rays after Tropicana Field was heavily damaged by Hurricane Milton in October.

“The ballpark is charming,” Manfred said of Sutter Health Park. “I do think that fans are going to get an opportunity to see Major League Baseball all season long in a really intimate environment. And I’m hopeful that the whole year is going to be a positive for us.”

Manfred was asked if the timeline for the A’s stadium in Las Vegas remains unchanged. The team is hoping to break ground later this year and open in time for the 2028 season, which could mean playing three years in West Sacramento.

“I don’t think the timeline has changed,” Manfred said. “I talked to (A’s owner) John (Fisher) last week. Believe that we’re going to be on time to go in 2028. Can’t give you a lot more granular detail than that.”