A’s ticket sales may help Sacramento expansion bid. What qualifies as ‘sold out’?
The Athletics’ home opener was declared a sellout two months ahead of the team’s West Sacramento debut. But for the team’s second home game here, the Athletics logged a precipitous dip in ticket sales.
The team reported 10,095 tickets sold for Tuesday’s loss to the Chicago Cubs, down from 12,119 on Monday.
The A’s considered Monday’s home opener a sold-out game, though ticket sales were well below Sutter Health Park’s total capacity of 13,416. The team said the attendance numbers reflect ticket sales alone, and don’t include those set aside, for instance, for community groups and family members of the players and staff.
Ticket sales will be closely watched over the team’s three seasons in West Sacramento. Many of the region’s civic leaders — and Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé — view the Athletics’ tenure here as an audition for a Major League Baseball expansion team. Local officials have said they expect to be judged, in part, on fan support and financing for the facilities a permanent major league team would require.
The idea of expanding the MLB from 30 to 32 teams has been discussed for years. The league’s commissioner, Rob Manfred, has reportedly said he wanted an expansion process in place by the time he retires in 2029.
Still, the early ticket sales in West Sacramento are on par with the team’s past performance. The Athletics averaged around 11,400 tickets sold per game last year at the 46,800-seat Coliseum in Oakland, according to Baseball Reference.
Sutter Health Park’s website says the stadium has 10,624 fixed seats, though it is unclear if that number changed during the recent ballpark renovations.
The stadium’s capacity has declined steadily since it opened 25 years ago.
Then known as Raley Field, opened in 2000 with a maximum capacity of 14,611, according to the Athletics’ media briefing materials. But it has dropped several times since then, including during the most recent renovations, likely a result of additional group viewing areas.
This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 2:58 PM.
