Sutter Health Park is new home to A’s, putting sports world in abuzz over turf, tickets

By Ashley Sharp

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    WEST SACRAMENTO (KOVR) — The Oakland Athletics won an emotional, final home game against the Texas Rangers at the Coliseum on Thursday afternoon; a bittersweet and tear-filled farewell to the team that has been “rooted in Oakland” since 1968.

The A’s will finish out their historic season on the road in Seattle this weekend.

The team announced in April it would make a temporary move next season to Sutter Health Park for at least three years, the current home of the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants the Sacramento River Cats, before their eventual move to Las Vegas after a new stadium is built.

From economic impact to ticket prices to playing on artificial turf, the sports world is abuzz with the MLB team making a big move to a Minor League ballpark.

The fact that the Oakland A’s and Sacramento River Cats will share a field at Sutter Health Park has stirred some controversy since the news broke that a new artificial turf field will replace the existing grass field at the stadium.

Due to the fact that both teams combined will play more than 150 games there next season, the teams ruled it would be impossible for grounds crews to maintain the grass field.

So, the decision was made that they will install artificial turf in the infield and outfield, something the MLB commissioner has backed, but that others, including players and agents, have criticized.

“Elite athletes, they refuse to play on plastic surfaces. The women’s national soccer team fought for the right to not play on synthetic turf,” Dianne Woelke said.

Woelke is the only California board member for the national nonprofit Safe Healthy Playing Fields, an advocacy group against artificial turf.

Sacramento summers are no stranger to high heat, and it’s no secret that heat and artificial turf do not mix well.

“You can see the heat islands that these fields create from satellites in space. They are massive and they extend beyond the actual footprint of the plastic surface itself,” Woelke said.

From the greater risk of injuries to heat impacts, some players from the A’s and the Giants-affiliated River Cats are calling a foul, according to longtime baseball reporter for the SF Chronicle, Susan Slusser.

“I guarantee that there are going to be nonstop complaints from agents and players, particularly visiting players, the next few years if they are in Sacramento,” Slusser said. “And I think the Giants have concerns about their top prospects playing on artificial turf.”

Take Sacramento’s latest heat headline this week for context.

Sacramento hit a record number of 45 days in one year that the city has seen temperatures at or above 100 degrees. 2024 is now the hottest year on record for downtown Sacramento.

Sutter Health Park sits along the Sacramento River that splits downtown from West Sacramento.

“A Sacramento summer can see 105, 106, 107 high temperatures easily. What temperature would you expect that turf to be on those days?” asked CBS13 reporter Ashley Sharp.

“At least 160 to 180 degrees. At least,” Woelke responded.

Addressing the concerns, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said to the Baseball Writer’s Association of America, “The vast, vast majority of the games can be played at night when it’s cooler.”

He added that the turf the MLB selected in cooperation with the Major League Baseball Player’s Association (MLBPA) “employs a natural, sustainable infill called Geofill, which is made from coconut husks and fibers” and that it “has a specific hydration component to it in terms of water being added to it to cool the surface.”

The Safe Healthy Playing Fields Coalition says watering turf only provides a momentary relief and that on an especially hot day, that could require stopping gameplay to water the turf.

“To subject professional players to this? To me, it’s unconscionable,” Woelke said.

There are five other MLB teams that currently play on artificial turf; however, they all have a domed stadium or a retractable roof.

The A’s in Sacramento would be the only team playing on turf in the league without that added layer of summer heat protection.

The MLBPA is aware of the turf concerns but did not want to provide a comment to CBS13 for this story.

The association says their negotiations with the MLB are ongoing as to all of the changes that will happen to make Sutter Health Park MLB-ready.

The stadium is already under construction to get it up to standard.

From hitting dingers to hitting the jackpot, the Oakland A’s temporary move to West Sacramento is setting the entire region up for success, bringing in some big league money to the local economy to the tune of tens of millions of dollars in year one, if not more.

West Sacramento business owners near Sutter Health Park are asking themselves, how can we cash in on the A’s? What can we do differently? They’re pitching ideas and hoping for a home run next season.

“It’s gonna bring a lot more traffic especially people from outside California, outside Sacramento. It’s gonna bring a lot more people,” said Micky Sisenglath, general manager of The Midway Bar and Grill on 3rd Street. “That’s what we’re hoping for, for sure!”

The Midway is even planning a makeover and rebrand.

“We want to be an A’s themed bar,” Sisenglath said. “A’s inspired drinks, maybe A’s inspired food. It’s still up in the air for how we want to promote ourselves.”

Down the road at Sal’s Tacos, customers can expect to see more spaces next season to watch the A’s, like on new patio TVs.

“If our sales on a Tuesday could triple, quadruple, well wow, welcome right?” said Ernesto Delgado, owner of Sal’s Tacos.

Right down the block from Sal’s at 5th and C, picture a brand new spot.

“This will become La Ciudad. It’s an old building the city of West Sacramento traded us for another property,” said Rob Ferguson, of the same hospitality group that runs Sal’s Tacos. “We’re turning it into a restaurant, a coffee bar and ice cream shop. Two outside bars.”

The city of West Sacramento tells CBS13 they are going to help small businesses dream big.

“We are excited to launch our new Small Business Accelerator Program which will not only help our local existing businesses prepare for, and benefit from, the increased number of visitors coming to West Sacramento for A’s games, but also offer opportunities for new businesses to call West Sacramento home,” a city spokesperson said in a statement.

The city is also expecting a boost in sales tax revenue from stadium concessions and merchandise, restaurants, hotels and parking.

The Midway hopes they become a new staple for A’s fans in Sacramento.

“Especially because it is walking distance from here. Downtown does get crowded and traffic is really bad. So we are hoping people will kind of guide themselves this way,” Sisenglath said.

Across the river, the greater Sacramento region and downtown Sacramento are projected to see an economic boost to the tune of tens of millions of dollars in the A’s first season.

“Another great thing is that the MLB season compliments the NBA season. So now we have got year-round major league sports here in the market,” said Scott Ford with the Downtown Sacramento Partnership.

From the Sacramento Kings to the A’s, they are two teams putting Sacramento on the map.

“When you add another major league experience on the opposite side of the riverfront, it really is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to capitalize for businesses,” Ford said. “And who knows, three years could turn into something longer. Stranger things have happened.”

The River Cats and Sutter Health Park celebrated their 25th season this year, an addition to the city that has completely transformed and revitalized its riverfront into a place for entertainment, food and housing.

The stadium forever changed the face of West Sacramento, and now, many are saying the A’s will do the same, even if they are only here for three years.

The A’s have hosted their final home game in Oakland and officially wrap up their season in Seattle this weekend; but the summer has been spent marketing their big move to West Sacramento, selling season ticket plans for the intimate stadium at Sutter Health Park that holds 14,000 fans.

People are already buying in, especially since the A’s 2025 season schedule has been released.

The team will throw out the first pitch to the Chicago Cubs on March 31.

Many fans already know and have accepted that big league ball comes with big league prices.

“I’m paying to see MLB and all the stars, I don’t have to travel to the Bay Area, don’t have to fight I-80, don’t have to get a hotel room. It’s great,” said West Sacramento resident Phil Hinkel.

Hinkel, a diehard San Francisco Giants fan, is now a proud A’s season ticket holder.

“The told us middle of October the regular seats are gonna be sold out but we decided, we’re gonna go ahead and jump on them now,” Hinkel said.

He and eight of his friends split the cost of a more than $30,000 season ticket package.

“It’s $400 per game which does include food and drink, parking. So, it’s like Kings tickets. But it’s worth it,” Hinkel said.

Each friend gets two tickets to 10 games total, splitting the season’s financial burden down to $4,000 each.

On the other hand, Sacramento River Cats season ticket holders picked up their packets for next season earlier this week; some said the A’s prices came with sticker shock. They were offered an early chance to snag season tickets after it was offered first to current A’s season ticket holders from the 2024 season.

“Starting at $5,000 for a deposit? For middle-class people that have to watch what they spend and pick and choose where to spend their money, we really thought the River Cats is the way to go,” said Michael Yosenick, a proud River Cats season ticket holder.

Michael Dickie and Peter Anderson are also River Cats season ticket holders who passed on the A’s season tickets.

“The tickets are gonna skyrocket. When the Dodgers come here or the Yankees come here this place is gonna be a zoo,” Dickie said.

“I think the A’s will probably draw better here than they would in Oakland. So I think it will be great for the economy,” added Anderson.

The average price for a premium season ticket runs about $180 to $250 a seat.

By the time ticket sales open to the general public for each game? Fans are already preparing their wallet.

“You’ll probably pay upwards of $300 for those seats,” Dickie said.

“I’m gonna have to budget for my favorite team,” Yosenick said.

Baseball fans by and large say they will pay those big league prices when their team comes to town.

“We are willing to sacrifice because it’s only a few games. To see my favorite team the Chicago White Sox, I definitely would pay for it, for sure,” Yosenick said.

For those premium season tickets, fans like Hinkel were locked in at a three-year commitment.

People can submit a deposit now to get on the “A’s list” for season tickets, more ticket options will be released in phases through the fall.

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