MLB commissioner Rob Manfred visited Sutter Health Park, the temporary home of the Athletics, on Wednesday. He left pleased with what he saw.
Manfred was joined by A’s owner John Fisher for a private event at the ballpark, which is home to the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats.
The stadium is in the process of being renovated to meet MLB standards. The millions of dollars in improvements include adding premium seating and lounges, upgrading clubhouses, dugouts and bullpens and installing LED lighting.
“The River Cats and the A’s have done a great job making changes necessary to host Major League games,” Manfred said to the Review-Journal on Thursday via email. “Sacramento will be a great home that will allow the A’s to ramp up for an exciting opening in Las Vegas in 2028.”
The A’s and River Cats, who are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants, will share the stadium for the next three seasons. The ballpark will replace its usual natural grass field with artificial turf to help with the extra wear and care that will come with two teams playing games there.
The A’s will have a full house when they begin their tenure in Sacramento, as they announced Wednesday their first game at Sutter Health Park on March 31 has sold out. The team will give all fans in attendance for the matchup with the Chicago Cubs a green and white hat featuring the A’s Sacramento patch.
The club said more than 74,000 fans registered for the opportunity to purchase tickets to its first game in Sacramento.
Sutter Health Park has a capacity of over 14,000 and will host the A’s through the 2027 season. The team plans to relocate to Las Vegas in 2028. The A’s planned $1.75 billion, 33,000-fan capacity ballpark will be built on 9 acres of the 35-acre Tropicana site on the Las Vegas Strip.
Construction on the A’s Las Vegas stadium is slated to begin between April and June. Construction will wrap up in early 2028.
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.
