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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
WEST SACRAMENTO, California — It’s a very workable ballpark for a minor league ballclub.
But can the big league Athletics handle playing at Sutter Health Park for three seasons before they’re scheduled to make their big move to Las Vegas in 2028?
We shall see.
LVSportsBiz.com strolled around the main and only concourse at the ballpark that can hold 14,014 fans in West Sacramento just over the Tower Bridge from the Sacramento state government hub. The A’s/Padres game was still hours away.
We rank Sutter Health Park somewhere between Cashman Field in downtown Las Vegas where the former Triple-A Las Vegas 51s used to play and Las Vegas Ballpark in Downtown Summerlin where the current Triple-A Aviators play. (The Aviators are the Triple-A affiliate of the A’s.)
A big player issue is that the A’s clubhouse is beyond the left-centerfield wall, which means Athletics players cannot go into their locker room right from the dugout, a common activity at modern MLB stadiums that typically have luxurious clubhouses.
There’s even a terrace outside the A’s clubhouse beyond the outfield fence — but no party.
For fans, there are 36 suites, though there are a few suites used for media and production purposes. There are premium food/beverage areas that have been upgraded, plus scoreboard and digital improvements.
And it’s a single-bowl seating area, so most fans have decent sight lines to the action on the diamond.
There are a lot of points of sale ringing the concourse from BBQ and pizza to A’s souvenirs.
The right field berm was an area for kids chasing baseballs and adults spreading out a picnic.
The minor league venue is a three-year stop gap for the A’s as they plan to stage a groundbreaking for a $1.75 billion domed stadium on the Strip at the former Tropicana hotel-casino site in Vegas. The ceremonial shovel in the ground could be in June followed by a two-and-a-half-year building process that would have the 33,000-capacity ballpark ready in Las Vegas for the 2028 season. The public is on the hook for a $380 million contribution to help build the A’s stadium, though the team says it will use $350 million of the $380 million.
McCarthy and Mortenson are teaming up to build the A’s stadium on the Strip — like they did for the Raiders stadium in Las Vegas. McCarthy even has a suite at Sutter Health Park.
There is a Las Vegas logo ad on the left-center outfield fence, part of the $8.25 million, three-year deal between the A’s and the public LVCVA tourism agency that included a “Las Vegas” patch on the jerseys of the Athletics players.
The A’s are marketing on two fronts. They are trying to build the foundation of a new fan base in Las Vegas, though even the NFL Raiders who moved to Las Vegas thanks to a publicly-subsidized stadium in 2020 are still trying to win over Vegas football fans. Many Raiders games are NFL tourist attractions at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
They are also trying to sell tickets in the Sacramento area and attract fans to Sutter Health Park with deals like this:
LVSportsBiz.com met three Padres fans at about 11:30 PM outside the ticket window area at the ballpark. They wanted to buy right field lawn tickets for what they thought were 25 bucks per ticket, but said they saw the price was $48 online. Jeff, his wife, Gloria, and his sister, Teresa, were hoping to get the right price from a ticket window worker, but the windows were not opening until 2 PM.
For the record, the Padres defeated the A’s, 5-4, as the Athletics have won four of their first 11 games this season. The A’s said attendance was 9,502.
The A’s have lost all four of their games at Sutter Health Park, including getting swept three games by the Cubs last week.
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