WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As the Athletics move from a Major League Baseball stadium in Oakland to a Minor League stadium in Sacramento, many people are wondering if Sutter Health Park has capacity for the fans?
The A's will be playing in West Sacramento for the next three MLB seasons starting in 2025 as the lease at the Oakland Coliseum expires after the 2024 season. There's also an option for a fourth season.
West Sacramento's Sutter Health Park is the home of the River Cats, the Giants' Triple-A affiliate owned by Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé.
The Sacramento River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics from 2000 to 2014 and became an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants in 2015, according to the River Cats website.
Sutter Health Park has a capacity of 14,014 with 10,632 bowl seats and space for 2,566 on the Toyota Home Run Hill, according to the River Cats. The Oakland Coliseum can seat up to 63,000 people, according to the Coliseum Authority.
Sutter Health Park only has a quarter of the capacity of the current baseball park where the A's play. Will it be enough to fit all the fans?
Does Sutter Health Park have the capacity for A's fans?
The Athletics attendance per game in 2023 was 10,276, according to Baseball Reference, which lists the typical number of tickets sold per home game.
According to Baseball Reference, all single-admission doubleheaders are counted only once in the attendance total and a zero is used for the other game of the doubleheader.
The Athletics had 9,849 attendees per game in 2022. Right out of COVID-19, 8,660 people attended the games in 2021, according to Baseball Reference. Ahead of COVID, the A's had attendance numbers of around 19,000 per game in 2019, 2018 and 2017.
Meanwhile, nearby Oracle Park, the home of the San Francisco Giants, has a seating capacity of 40,260, according to MLB.
The typical attendance per game in 2023 was 30,866, according to Baseball Reference. It was a similar attendance per game number in 2022 at 30,650. Right out of COVID-19, attendance per game was 20,734. Attendance at games dropped slightly after COVID with pre-pandemic numbers around 40,000 in 2018, 2017 and 2016.
With a capacity of 14,014, Sutter Health Park should have ample seating for Oakland A's fans based on past attendance data if they choose to travel to West Sacramento. There should be room for Sacramento fans, too.
Watch more on ABC10 | A's Playing In Sacramento: Vivek Ranadivé on the move | Raw
