The right field gate of Sutter Health Park and the city of West Sacramento will soon welcome big league fans

WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - On March 31, little Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento is going to come alive with Major League Baseball action.

That is the day when months of anticipation will be capped off by Major League Baseball’s Athletics (formerly of Oakland) taking the field against the Chicago Cubs.

The opening pitch of the game against the Cubs, scheduled for 7:05 p.m., will mark the historic debut of Major League Baseball in the capital region.

Sacramento has previously been the home to copious amounts of championship caliber minor league baseball with the Sacramento Solons playing during several periods of the 20th century and the Sacramento River Cats calling Sutter Health Park home since their inaugural season in 2000.

A big-league team calling Sutter Health Park home, albeit on a temporary basis, is something that seemed like a far-fetched canard just a year ago to many residents. But as the relationship between the Athletics and their former host city soured, The A’s moving to Sacramento started to sound plausible.

 

Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento will host Major League Baseball’s Athletics in 2025. 

Now, West Sacramento will witness the big-league talents, such as the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, taking on the Athletics in 81 home games in 2025.

The Athletics made some big offseason moves to shore up the roster for the 2025 campaign, adding right-handed pitching ace Luis Severino and infielders, Gio Ursela and Luis Urias. The Athletics also secured the continued services of Brent Rooker and his bat through a 5-year contract extension.

Sutter Health Park has also undergone some big off-season moves to accommodate the addition of the Athletics. At the end of the 2024 River Cats season, the stadium sod was removed to make room for a planned install of artificial turf. That idea was scrapped after push-back from the players association that argued artificial turf would be a safety concern for players. New sod has now been installed, along with improved lighting, scoreboard, premium seating and a new clubhouse with big league amenities for the Athletics.

The Athletics have posted a spring training record of 17 wins versus 13 losses in the cactus league. There is great anticipation in the Sacramento region to see how they perform on the big stage when the games count.

Soon, the restaurants, bars, parking lots and hotels in the vicinity of Sutter Health Park will teem with big league excitement, activity, and business.

For more information on tickets, game schedules, parking, tailgating and other game day needs, go to www.cityofwestsacramento.org/i-want/game-day.