What is the capacity of Sutter Health Park?

14,014 seats, making it the smallest venue in Major League Baseball. Standing room and temporary seating areas bring the total to approximately 15,000 on sellout nights.

Why are the Athletics playing in Sacramento?

The A's left Oakland after the 2024 season and are using Sutter Health Park as their temporary home from 2025 to 2027 while their permanent $1.5 billion stadium is built in Las Vegas, expected to open in 2028.

How do I get to Sutter Health Park from downtown Sacramento?

Walk across the Tower Bridge — it's about a 15-minute walk from the Capitol Mall area. SacRT bus routes also serve stops near the stadium. By car, take I-80 to the Jefferson Blvd exit.

Was Sutter Health Park always an MLB stadium?

No. It opened in 2000 as Raley Field, a minor league ballpark for the Sacramento River Cats (Triple-A). Significant renovations were made in 2024-2025 to prepare it for MLB use, including outfield expansion, natural grass installation, and new bullpens.

What was the old name of Sutter Health Park?

The stadium was called Raley Field from 2000 to 2020 (named after Raley's supermarkets). It briefly held other names before becoming Sutter Health Park in 2023.

Sutter Health Park, West Sacramento - Capacity, History & Complete Visitor Guide

Q: Is there parking at Sutter Health Park?

Yes. On-site lots hold approximately 4,000 vehicles. General parking is $20-30. Overflow lots operate along Riverwalk Drive. Pre-purchasing through the A's app is recommended.

About Sutter Health Park

Sutter Health Park sits on the west bank of the Sacramento River in West Sacramento, just across the Tower Bridge from California’s state capital. With 14,014 seats, it’s the smallest venue in Major League Baseball — and the most improbable. Built in 2000 as a minor league ballpark for the Sacramento River Cats, it became an MLB stadium in 2025 when the Oakland Athletics relocated here as a temporary home while their permanent Las Vegas stadium is under construction.

The A’s (now marketed as the Sacramento Athletics for this interim period) are the primary tenants, sharing the schedule with the River Cats when the big league club is on the road. HNTB designed the original $46.5 million stadium, which was built in under nine months without a dollar of public funding — a private investment by the River Cats’ ownership group that bet on Sacramento’s appetite for professional baseball.

The conversion from Triple-A to MLB required significant work. The outfield fences were pushed back 12 feet in left field to create major league dimensions, natural grass replaced the existing playing surface, a new 4,000-square-foot videoboard went up beyond center field, and MLB-standard bullpens were constructed along the baselines. Clubhouses were expanded, broadcast facilities were upgraded, and the lighting was brought to major league standards — all completed in under five months.

The result is intimate in a way that no other MLB ballpark can match. With just 14,014 seats, every fan is close to the action. The front row behind home plate sits 42 feet from the batter — closer than any other MLB venue. The Sacramento River flows beyond the left field berm, and Tower Bridge glows gold at sunset behind the right field stands.

The A’s arrival transformed West Sacramento’s riverfront. Restaurants and bars along the River Walk have expanded their patio seating, food trucks line Ballpark Drive on game nights, and the pedestrian traffic across the Tower Bridge has turned a utilitarian crossing into a social event. The small footprint means the entire concourse wraps tightly around the bowl — you can see the field from almost every concession stand and walkway, a feature that larger MLB parks can only dream of replicating.

Getting to Sutter Health Park

Public Transit

The stadium’s location across the river from downtown Sacramento makes walking the simplest option for many fans.

→ From downtown Sacramento: Walk across the Tower Bridge — about 15 minutes from the Capitol Mall area. The bridge is pedestrian-friendly and the walk is part of the game-day experience.

→ By bus: SacRT routes serve downtown Sacramento, with connections to West Sacramento. Yolobus routes 42A and 42B also serve the area from Davis and Woodland.

SacRT light rail stations at Sacramento Valley Station and 7th & Capitol are the closest rail stops, each about a 20-minute walk to the stadium via the Tower Bridge.

Driving + Parking

GPS address: 400 Ballpark Drive, West Sacramento, CA 95691.

→ From San Francisco (140 km): I-80 East through Davis to the Jefferson Blvd exit. About 1 hour 30 minutes.

→ From Reno (220 km): I-80 West over Donner Pass. About 2 hours 15 minutes.

→ From downtown Sacramento (3 km): I-5 South to I-80 West, exit at Jefferson Blvd. About 5-10 minutes — though walking the Tower Bridge is often faster on game nights.

On-site parking lots hold approximately 4,000 vehicles. General parking is $20-30. Overflow lots operate along Riverwalk Drive south of the stadium. Pre-purchasing parking through the A’s app is recommended as lots sell out for most games.

Rideshare

Uber and Lyft drop off and pick up at the main entrance on Ballpark Drive. From downtown Sacramento, expect $10-15; from Sacramento International Airport about $25-35. After games, walk south along Riverwalk Drive for faster pickups — the main entrance gets congested.

From the Airport

→ Sacramento International Airport (SMF): 19 km northwest, about 20 minutes by car. Uber/Lyft $25-35. SacRT bus route 142 connects the airport to downtown, followed by a walk across the Tower Bridge.

History of Sutter Health Park

The stadium opened on May 15, 2000, as Raley Field — named after Raley’s, the Sacramento-area supermarket chain. The Sacramento River Cats, then the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics (in an ironic twist), drew over 800,000 fans in their first season. The ballpark quickly established itself as one of the best minor league venues in the country, winning multiple Ballpark of the Year awards.

The A’s connection to Sacramento deepened unexpectedly in 2024 when the franchise, unable to secure a new stadium in Oakland, announced a move to Las Vegas with a planned $1.5 billion domed stadium. But the Las Vegas venue wouldn’t be ready until 2028, leaving the A’s homeless. Sacramento — which had lost its own bid to attract the A’s permanently — became the interim solution.

Key moments in the stadium’s history:

May 15, 2000: Inaugural game as Raley Field — Vancouver Canadians 5, River Cats 4.
2000-2024: The River Cats draw over 10 million total fans across 25 seasons, consistently ranking among the top minor league teams in attendance.
November 2024: MLB approves Sutter Health Park as the A’s temporary home. Renovations begin immediately.
March 27, 2025: First MLB game — Sacramento Athletics host the Los Angeles Angels in front of a sellout crowd of 14,014.
2025 season: Every home game sells out, validating Sacramento’s hunger for major league baseball.

Sacramento’s Central Valley climate makes summer baseball an exercise in endurance. June through September temperatures regularly hit 38°C (100°F), and the open-air design offers no escape. Evening games cool to the mid-20s (upper 70s°F) by the later innings, with a river breeze from the Sacramento making the berm seating beyond left field particularly pleasant.

The A’s tenure here is temporary — Las Vegas awaits in 2028 — but the intimacy of a 14,014-seat major league ballpark has created something special. The smallest MLB stadium produces the loudest atmosphere per capita in baseball, and Sacramento fans have made a compelling case that this city deserves permanent major league representation.