Sacramento turns Dodger blue as fans flock cheer on LA in A’s series
Downtown Sacramento was awash in Dodger blue as thousands of fans poured into the capital city for a three-game series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the A’s that concludes Wednesday.
The Los Angeles Dodgers opened the series against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park on Monday, winning the sold-out opener at the minor league stadium as Dodgers fans packed the stands. By Tuesday afternoon, the Dodgers’ effect continued, as downtown and Old Sacramento more closely resembled Chavez Ravine, with fans clad in green and gold standing out amid a sea of Dodger blue baseball caps and L.A.-emblazoned jerseys.
“It was fun seeing how many Dodgers fans are in Sacramento,” Romy Silva, a young fan of the Boys in Blue, said. “It’s really fun to see all the Dodger players, especially in my hometown, and to see them up close.”
Silva said she attended Monday night’s game and planned to attend Tuesday’s, wearing a Dodgers jersey and a matching white mitt while visiting Downtown Commons. Avery Tanimoto, matching Silva’s outfit, added that she, Silva and two friends were heading to DoCo’s Kimpton Sawyer Hotel, where the team was staying, hoping to get players to sign their baseballs.
The sentiment — unusual as it may seem for a town hosting the A’s during their three-season stay in West Sacramento before their planned move to Las Vegas, and one with deep ties to the San Francisco Giants — wasn’t unique.
Ben Cove, a Los Angeles resident and Dodgers fan who flew in for the series, said his trip had been “really all about baseball” and that between games, visiting a sports bar and seeing a local sight or two, he had been hanging out in the Kimpton lobby to see players pass.
“We were so fired up to see them in a minor league park, to see Shohei in a minor league park,” Cove added.
Four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani has become one of baseball’s biggest stars, drawing fans eager for a chance to see him regardless of whether he’s in the lineup or on the mound. Ohtani had been scheduled to start Wednesday’s series finale, but the Dodgers pushed his next pitching appearance to Friday in Los Angeles against the San Diego Padres to give him additional rest.
Dodgers fan and Los Angeles resident Maurice Figueroa said he and his partner tried to catch the Dodgers during their surprise visit to the State Capitol on Tuesday, but just missed the team.
Figueroa, a baseball die-hard, said he tries to visit “obscure” fields in minor league cities: “The fact that the A’s are out here and the Dodgers are in town — that’s one for the bucket list.”
Raymond Astrada, a Sacramento native and Dodgers fan since childhood, said the Dodgers playing in West Sacramento made the series even more special.
Local business owners welcomed the boost in business as Dodgers fans filled restaurants, hotels and entertainment districts throughout Sacramento and West Sacramento.
“You can see it downtown, the restaurants are full, the hotels are busy, and you know, the businesses are busier during those times,” said David Eadie, chief sports and entertainment officer of Visit Sacramento. “With the Giants and the Dodgers being California-based as well, we get a lot of folks traveling in from Southern California and from the Bay Area for those games.”
Bear & Crown owner Jesse Ledin said his British pub-style restaurant in Old Sacramento was “slammed” Monday with Dodgers and A’s fans alike, with levels of foot traffic he usually sees only when the Giants or Dodgers come to town. He said he expected the crowds to continue through Wednesday, when the series concludes.
Ledin added that he supports events that bring more customers — both travelers and locals — into the Downtown and Old Sacramento areas, citing West Sacramento’s bid for a Major League Baseball expansion team that the capital region’s leaders launched last month.
Eadie emphasized the importance of diversifying the region’s tourism base through sports, festivals and events to generate tourism revenue.
“We always talk about how we promote tourism. It’s not for the tourists, it’s for the people that live and work here, and to create a more vibrant economy in Sacramento,” Eadie said.
It is unlikely the Dodgers will return to West Sacramento before the Athletics relocate to Las Vegas in 2028. The teams are next scheduled to meet in Los Angeles in 2027.
