Sutter Health Park — Attraction in West Sacramento

I will say, "Sutter Health Park" has got to be one of the nicest Minor League stadiums in all of professional sports. Having been opened since 2000, this park was the Sacramento Rivercats Minor League affiliate to the Oakland Athletics (from 2000-2014) while serving as the Minor League affiliate to the San Francisco Giants (from 2015-present). This place was once known as Raley Field (from 2000-2019) but was renamed Sutter Health Park as part of a naming rights agreement with Sacramento-based Sutter Health that serves hospitals/medical facilities surrounding the Northern California region.

Going back to the park itself, I have been here on quite a few occasions. Not just for baseball games but also for soccer matches, concerts, graduations, and even a beer festival. The parking itself is rather spacious as it is in close proximity to a major freeway as well as surface streets. Over the years, this entire area has been revitalized by utilizing a full pavement parking lot while constructing nearby housing, businesses, and a bike trail.

My most recent visit came during the evening of Saturday 6/25/2022 as I got to see the Sacramento Rivercats host the El Paso Chihuahuas for a 6:37pm game. The best way to expedite the ticket process is by purchasing everything online. This includes the parking pass, food voucher (if applicable) and seat tickets. Getting through the entrance is rather simple (and much less stressful) than a Major League Baseball game. Keep in mind that only clear bags are allowed inside the park. Furthermore, they do not allow food or drink inside except for sealed plastic water bottles, baby formula, & small milk cartons.

Since we are on the subject of food, I will say that Sutter Health Park has a nice menu selection including their popular hot dogs (aka "Dinger Dogs"), wings, nachos, tri-tip sandwiches, burgers, popcorn, and desserts. I ended up ordering a "Bacon-Guacamole Cheeseburger" with a regular sized soda which came to about $20. Prices mirror that of a professional MLB game so be sure to bring extra money if you wish to enjoy a $14 beer. But overall, the food concession stands move rather quickly.

As far as the aesthetic layout of this park, it is absolutely beautifully designed and laid out. From a distance, you can see the Tower Bridge, the pyramid-shaped Ziggurat building and a couple other high-rise buildings in plain sight. The seating itself holds over 14,000 guests which include fixed seats, lawn, and standing room only. The digital scoreboard is rather small but still fairly easy to read a players stats. There are other areas displaying digital information including balls/strikes/outs, a pitchers' MPH (after every pitch), and a timer (of when a pitcher must release his pitch).

From any seat at this park, you can definitely see a lot of action going on the field. Whether you are sitting in the upper box section, the lower deck area, or even the lawn, this is a very nice place to watch a baseball game. You can also see a view of both the home/away dugouts, the upcoming batters on-deck, and the home/away bullpens (behind the outfield wall). And if you're lucky, you may get a foul ball hit in your direction so always keep a lookout. With that said and done, I am rounding out my 4.5 rating of "Sutter Health Park" to a perfect 5-stars. Great location, amazing views, excellent food, and...

Great experience overall, just deducting 1 star due to the high prices of both the parking and standard ballpark food. I understand charging for parking in a city setting but during a day game in that area, $40 is a bit steep even for California. We didn't even spend that much on tickets! On to the highlights....First time to this stadium and it was fun to meet all the o.g. A's fans that have traveled from all over the U.S to visit here! We received a nice cooler bag upon entry to the game as the promo for that day. 😍 EVERY staff member we encountered working in the parking lot, concessions, at the entrance, and really all around the stadium -they were all incredibly kind and helpful!! 🤩 I'm disappointed that they had Budweiser ad/logo everywhere but it wasn't available on tap anywhere that day. 🥴 Security line moved super quick and low profile beach chairs are allowed so kudos there! Bathrooms were very clean and well stocked with feminine products -nice touch. 🥳 Food was decent but just average options with extraordinary prices. Would love to see some local (Sellands?) options offered here for that price point. Great selection of A's merch to choose from inside the stadium. Lots of shade in the lawn areas where we sat always a plus! Love & greatly appreciate the 20% off for our next visit! Please for the love of families lower the food prices or allow coolers/picnic baskets to be brought in from outside. Also I think you're missing the market by not offering more family or school age discount days for the upcoming summer months. Sure $25 bucks a lawn seat is ok, but not when you average that x4 plus parking and snacks thats upwards of $200 for a family outing. 😬🫣 It was fun to go with a friend for a day game on a whim, but I'm not sure my family of four could go together at that price. Hopefully, they can improve this to gain...

We took our family and met up with friends to see the A's while they are temporarily playing at this stadium. We bought 7 tickets and paid to park 3 vehicles.

The GOOD: the young man at the bag check in the front who was kind to us and treated us like human beings when we brought a small ice chest and let us keep baby food, waters, baby bottles, and fruit. I got to bring in my diaper bag, even though it wasn't clear vinyl. (Thank you.) The game. The general design of the stadium. The little park inside the park. The police that gave out stickers. The well-humored folks that drive the carts. The fans that came to have a good time.

The BAD: the chairs, the prices. I am pregnant, but decided to pass on eating there. The prices kill my appetite. Most of the easy foods are not conducive to health for pregnant ladies. I don't expect special treatment, but I highlight this irony because it is called the Sutter Health Park, lol. Though this may be the case, I would've left 5 stars if not for...

The UGLY: the utter look of disdain from the supervisor at the bag check as if we were the scum of the earth for even asking to bring in outside food. It was always OK at the Colliseum. But most of all, the power tripping security guard that snatched a bag of recycling out of my husband's hand so callously, even causing my 9-month old who was in his other arm to cry. When speaking to supervisors, they justify themselves by saying it's "stadium property". Did it ever occur to you that our party bought many of the cans inside that bag? Do you own it even when money has exchanged hands and it's being drunk by your customers? Are you so hard up for money that snatching up roughly $7 of aluminum cans and shamelessly causing a baby to cry tickles your pickles? Good God.

If we went to see the Giants they would treat a group of 7...