Oakland Athletics second baseman Zack Gelof turns a double play in the third inning of Tuesday’s game against the Reds in Cincinnati. The A’s will move to Sacramento, Calif., next year while they wait for their new stadium to be built in Las Vegas, and the most sought-after seats closest to home plate sold out in two weeks, according to a source who had knowledge of the A’s sales but was not authorized to speak.
With their current season winding down in Oakland, the Athletics have spent this summer selling and marketing season ticket plans for 2025 and beyond when they move to Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, Calif.
The team has been working with the host Triple-A Sacramento River Cats and Sacramento Kings’ sales teams while selling the most premium seating options, a source confirmed to The Sacramento Bee.
The most sought-after seats closest to home plate sold out in two weeks, said the source, who had knowledge of the A’s sales but was not authorized to speak. The sales were part of a three-phase plan to sell high-end options and luxury suites before standard tickets went on sale this fall.
The costs of the luxury seats were not disclosed, while the other premium seats were expected to cost between $15,000 and$20,000 per seats each season, or about $183 to $244 per game, to see Major League Baseball games at the minor league ballpark.
A graphic depicting premium season ticket prices is making rounds on social media; however, according to the source, it was not made by the team.
A list of average season ticket prices for 2023 compiled by the sports business website Statista suggests the Los Angeles Dodgers had the most expensive average season ticket price in baseball at $209 per game, in line with the higher-end A’s tickets planned for Sacramento.
But the A’s, owned by John Fisher, haven’t enjoyed the same success as the Dodgers, who had the best record in the majors going into Wednesday’s games and lead the league in attendance with an average of 48,270 attendees for each of their first 66 home games this year. The A’s are currently last in average attendance at 9,877 fans per game at the Oakland Coliseum. On the field, the team is headed toward its third-straight sub-.500 season after having 102 and 112 losses the past two years, respectively.
The A’s payroll is just over $62 million, also last among the 30 clubs, $22 million behind the Pittsburgh Pirates, who rank 31st in players salaries. Baseball’s top 10 teams in payroll each pay more than $200 million a year for their players.
The premium A’s season tickets will include parking, food, beverage and access to the recently renovated premium areas. Sutter Health Park, which is owned by the Sacramento Kings, announced renovation plans in July for the Solon Club, Legacy Club and Gilt-Edge Club that will be accessible to premium ticket holders. Premium tickets are only being sold in person, with roughly 10 to 12 being sold per day, according to The Bee’s source.
The premium plans also require a three-year commitment while standard tickets will not, according to the person with knowledge of the marketing effort.
Luxury suite sales are the third phase of the rollout while traditional tickets are expected to go on sale after the premium options, though exactly when remains unclear. Prices for standard tickets were not disclosed — the source said those pricing the tickets say “there will be ticket options for every budget.”
The A’s, River Cats and Kings agreed the team would play at the 14,000-seat ballpark for at least three seasons with an option fora fourth in 2028, when the A’s are hoping to open a new $1.5 billion ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip.
No financing plans have been made public while A’s officials insist they will break ground on the new stadium next spring. It’s planned to be built on the current site of the Tropicana Hotel, which is tentatively planned for implosion in October.
The A’s current ticketing and business staffers have already been informed that many existing employees will not be retained when the team moves to Sacramento. The River Cats and Kings are expected to take on the bulk of the A’s day-to-day business operations when the team relocates.
Meanwhile, construction has already begun at Sutter Health Park to add a new home clubhouse for the A’s down the leftfield line. There are also plans to build new batting cages and weight rooms while upgrading the River Cats’ home clubhouse in the offseason, which will serve as the visiting clubhouse for A’s games. There will also be an upgraded press box, broadcast booths and lighting.
And with 157 games expected to be played between the A’s and River Cats next season while they share the stadium, artificial turf will be installed to account for wear and tear. Questions remain, however, about how hot the playing surface could get during Sacramento’s summer months, when temperatures often rocket into the triple digits. Studies suggest artificial turf gets substantially hotter than natural grass in direct sunlight.
The A’s first regular-season game at Sutter Health Park is March 31 against the Chicago Cubs. Start times for next season’s games have not been announced.
The River Cats schedule released earlier this month revealed the teams are not scheduled to play at the stadium on the same day. They will alternate home and away dates or each be on the road. Triple-A teams play six-game series lasting a week with days off Monday to accommodate travel. The simplified scheduling helped the two teams to share the ballpark.