Athletics Adjust To Their Minor League Home Park In A Major League Way

The team formerly known as the Oakland Athletics is now called the Athletics.

That’s because the Major League Baseball franchise is planning to move to Las Vegas.

The team now plays in West Sacramento, California, which is 82 miles from Oakland.

The A’s now play their home games at Sutter Health Park, which is also the Triple-A franchise of the Sacramento River Cats, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.

The park opened on May 15, 2000.

The seating capacity of Sutter Health Park is 14,611.

It is 330 feet down the left field line, 403 feet to dead center field, and 325 feet to right field.

Bullpens are behind a low wall in right field.

Several small press boxes have been created.

This old scout attended a June 20-23 weekend series between the Athletics and the Cleveland Guardians at the Athletics temporary West Sacramento home.

It was a unique experience, as the Athletics made every effort to provide the “look” and “feel” of a Major League Baseball stadium.

In an effort to provide a playing facility in West Sacramento that meets the standards of Major League Baseball, and the Major League Baseball Players Association, the Athletics had to make a considerable number of modifications to Sutter Health Park.

According to MLB.com, some of the changes include:

1- Modification of the the video board. A state-of-the-art video experience, featuring a 75X 32 main display was installed.

2- Modifications were made to enhance the sustainability, performance and playability of the natural grass surface.

Since the field is in constant use with the Athletics and River Cats both playing home games at Sutter Health Park, the installation of AirPAT technology is used to help allow the grass to thrive, with good moisture management.

As the heat continues to increase in West Sacramento, the grass surface could become an issue.

3- Increased infrastructure for stadium technology will help with device traffic from both fans and media.

4- Renovated clubhouse, dugout, and player amenities help give the Athletics temporary new home a major league fell.

The clubhouses are located in the outfield, and players must walk to and from the clubhouses down the left field line to access the clubhouses.

But the facilities in the clubhouses and dugouts now include more modernized amenities and space to meet the needs of major league organizations.

The Athletics are hoping their new Las Vegas home park will open in 2028.

Ground has just been broken for construction of the new, $1.75 billion facility.

The new stadium will seat 33,000 guests.

The Sutter Health Park Experience:

This writer was very impressed with the overall environment the Athletics staff has created at their new temporary home.

One gets the feel of a major league game, but the “look” of a minor league facility.

The park has only one deck, and that is strikingly different than the massive 30,000 seating capacities most fans experience.

The positive attitude and overall friendliness of every staff member this old scout encountered was remarkable. The staff had a smile and a warm welcome for everyone.

Fans were treated to a well planned display of interactive videos and music during down times in the games.

There was a sense of enjoyment and joy in almost every minute of each game this writer attended.

Concession stands bustled with business, and it seemed everyone was enjoying the readily available, common baseball game food.

Sutter Health Park looked very clean, and very well maintained. It was a pleasure to attend games at the facility.

Crowds for the first two games were just above 8,000 each game.

The Sunday game drew more than 10,000 spectators, as the team gave a Jacob Wilson bobblehead to everyone in attendance.

Wilson is All Star Game bound, and he is a fan favorite. He will start at shortstop for the American League.

His bobblehead was very popular.

The Athletics have an exciting team. They are making the very best of a difficult situation as they await the construction of their new Las Vegas stadium.

Until they move to Nevada, West Sacramento, and the staff working at Sutter Health Park can be very proud of the facility they are offering a major league club in their minor league park.