The Athletics, who are moving from Oakland to Sacramento next season, will play their home games on grass instead of the artificial turf that was originally planned for Sutter Health Park.
In April 2023, the team announced it would be relocating from Oakland to a new stadium in Las Vegas. They also stated that they would play in Sacramento from 2025 to 2027 while the new stadium in Nevada is being built. The Sacramento ballpark is also home to the San Francisco Giants’ Triple-A team, the River Cats.
Last summer, Major League Baseball announced that an artificial turf field would be installed to handle up to 153 regular-season games over 186 days. Sacramento can experience high summer temperatures reaching 115 degrees (46 Celsius), and the Major League Baseball Players Association raised concerns about this.
“In light of the players’ clear preference for natural grass, and after weighing with the MLBPA the potential risks and benefits of maintaining natural grass versus replacing the playing surface with synthetic turf, all the parties are aligned in moving forward with a natural grass field for opening day 2025,” MLB said in a statement on Monday.
The decision was made together by the commissioner’s office, the team, and Sutter Health Park. “I’m glad it’s going to be grass, for sure,” said Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt, a two-time Oakland All-Star.
The A’s will begin their home schedule against the Chicago Cubs on March 31. Sutter Health Park has around 10,500 fixed seats.
“We play on turf so I can’t say I had any concern for player safety,” Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said in a text message. “I will say I’m not a fan of turf on an outdoor ballpark so I’m glad to hear the news.”
Las Vegas will be the fourth permanent home for the franchise, which started in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, then moved to Kansas City from 1955 to 1967 before going to Oakland.
Murray Cook, a consultant for the field surface to MLB and the union, evaluated the options and found that a grass surface was a good choice. Sutter Health Park has had a grass surface since it opened in 2000.
A new home clubhouse is being built for the A’s, which will include a locker room, weight room, and training room. The dugouts will be renovated to create more space, the bullpens will be updated, and a new batter’s eye will be installed after the union raised concerns about visibility.
