Sutter Health Park: Guide for Visiting Fans

The most atmospheric way to arrive is on foot. If you're staying downtown, you're already a reasonable walking distance from Sutter Health Park. Pedestrians can utilize a walkway that passes underneath Interstate 5 and into the historic Old Sacramento area, then head a couple blocks south and cross the river via the distinctive yellow Tower Bridge — one of Sacramento's defining landmarks. When you reach the other side, Sutter Health Park is already in sight to your left. Call it 15–20 minutes from Capitol Mall. It's a genuinely pleasant walk and doubles as your pregame vista.

Flying in? Sacramento International Airport (SMF) is 13 miles from the ballpark, and the drive takes approximately 15 minutes without traffic. You can also take Yolobus Route 42A from the airport and get off at Cabaldon Pkwy at Sutter Health Park — the journey takes about 24 minutes and departs hourly. That's a shockingly convenient option for a ballpark not served by light rail.

If coming from a suburban point east of downtown, the Sacramento Regional Transit (SacRT) light rail extends to Rancho Cordova, Folsom, and Roseville. Get off at either the 7th and Capitol or 8th and Capitol stops and head west on Capitol Mall toward the Tower Bridge. SacRT offers light service to 7th and Capitol and 8th and Capitol downtown, and fans can then connect to a Yolobus route across the Tower Bridge to Sutter Health Park.

By car, take I-5 to West Sacramento and follow signs toward Ballpark Drive. Rideshare users, including Uber and Lyft passengers, can be dropped off or picked up at the Rideshare Zone at 7th Street and Cabaldon Parkway, west of Sutter Health Park.

Parking is plentiful but not cheap during A's games. Sutter Health Park has over 5,000 parking spaces across multiple lots. The closest options are the Main Lot, VIP Green Lot, Gold Lot, Black Lot, and Ziggurat Garage. The VIP Green Lot and Gold Lot are only available to A's season ticket members with a season pass.

For A's games, a $39 special event rate applies at city-operated street parking for vehicles parked more than two hours, effective two hours before game time through the end of the event. For the ballpark's own lots, expect to pay in the range of $20–30 for general parking. The Black Lot is a dirt lot south of the ballpark with entrance off 5th Street; the Ziggurat Garage is near the pyramid-shaped Ziggurat building, accessible from either direction on 3rd Street. The Ziggurat Garage tends to exit more cleanly than the surface lots after games. Pre-purchasing through the A's app is strongly recommended. Also worth noting: Sutter Health Park offers complimentary, secured Bike Valet on Ballpark Drive — a genuinely excellent option if you're staying nearby.

Sutter Health Park is located in West Sacramento, which is not only a different city but a different county from Sacramento proper. That said, it's very close to downtown Sacramento and its various attractions, including the California State Capitol and Golden 1 Center.

Downtown Sacramento is where you want to book. You're a 20-minute walk or a short rideshare from the ballpark, with genuine neighborhood infrastructure — restaurants, bars, coffee, everything you need before and after a game. Hotels in downtown Sacramento include the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown starting around $170 a night, The Exchange at approximately $295, and the Hyatt Centric Downtown around $220. If you want to shave the hotel bill, options with rooms starting at $100 or less include the Best Western Sandman Hotel, Comfort Suites Downtown Sacramento, and Howard Johnson by Wyndham. Staying on the Sacramento side of the river gives you the best pregame options and lets you do the Tower Bridge walk — which is worth it.

If you'd rather stay in West Sacramento itself to be on the same side as the ballpark, the SpringHill Suites and Hampton Inn & Suites both offer rooms under $200 and are approximately 10 minutes by car from Sutter Health Park.

The immediate West Sacramento block has some catching up to do compared to stadiums surrounded by a bar district, but there are good spots if you know where to look.

Drake's: The Barn is the go-to pre-game hangout right by the ballpark — a massive beer garden with craft beer, wood-fired pizzas, burgers, and shareable bites, with outdoor seating, live music, cornhole, and fire pits. It's the closest thing to a true pregame anchor around the park.

Birdie's Social Club is the closest restaurant to Sutter Health Park's gates. Its two outdoor patios offer excellent people-watching before games, with deep green booths, a creative cocktail bar, and Trackman golf bays inside. Perfect if you want something a little more interesting than a beer garden.

Old Sacramento, just across the river from the ballpark, has several bars and eateries. Fanny Ann's Saloon is worth a visit — one reviewer notes you get 20% off food and drink if you show your game ticket. It's a Gold Rush-era saloon that leans into the kitsch.

Tom's Watch Bar in DOCO (Downtown Commons, near Golden 1 Center) is Sacramento's top sports bar option, offering a 360-degree viewing experience with TVs on every inch of the wall. It's a 15-minute rideshare from the ballpark, but it's where you want to be for a proper pregame or postgame if you care about screens.

Sutter Health Park enforces a clear bag policy at all entry gates. Non-clear diaper bags are allowed but subject to search. Bags should not be larger than 12 inches × 6 inches × 12 inches. Non-clear bags no larger than 5"×8" — roughly the size of a half sheet of paper — are permitted. Anything larger that isn't clear gets turned away or sent back to the car/locker. Lockers are available in front of the Main Gate and Right Field Gate to store items throughout the game for a nominal fee.

General gates open 1.5 hours prior to game time and 2 hours prior for Season Ticket Members. There are two main entrances: the Main Gate at the SW corner of Ballpark Drive and 5th Street, and the Right Field Gate at the SE corner of Ballpark Drive and Riverfront Street. The Right Field Gate puts you closest to the outfield lawn — good if you have berm tickets. The Main Gate is better for the lower bowl and club levels. There are no ATMs on site, and the entire ballpark operates cashless. Pre-load your Venmo or make sure your cards are handy.

Wheelchair and companion seating is available on every level and in all price categories of the stadium. Every seating section is wheelchair-accessible, and electric outlets are provided at many wheelchair seating areas for charging power wheelchairs and electronic communication devices. For additional information regarding disabled seating, contact the ticket office at 916-371-4487 or email tickets@sutterhealthpark.com.

An elevator is located on the stadium concourse at Section 112 for wheelchair access to the Field Level and the suite level. There are a limited number of disabled parking spaces in the VIP Green Lot and the Main Lot. The Green Lot is the primary ADA parking area, while the Main Lot is for ADA overflow on a first-come, first-served basis. Ahead of the Athletics' arrival, the ballpark also received upgrades to ADA seating accommodations.

The main lower seating deck stretches from the left field foul pole around to the right field foul pole. Above, a smaller second deck includes a club seating area and 36 luxury suites. Grass berms behind the left and right field walls provide additional seating, and fans in the grandstand enjoy stunning views of downtown Sacramento's skyline and the iconic Tower Bridge behind right field.

There is no designated away fan section at Sutter Health Park — it's an intimate park, and visiting supporters tend to scatter. That said, the first base side (Sections 105–110) generally draws less intense local partisanship and offers clean sightlines to the field. The right field berm is the most relaxed atmosphere in the park — bring a blanket, enjoy the Tower Bridge view, and heckle freely. There's precious little shade in the seating areas , which matters a lot in Sacramento summers; if you're coming for a day game in July or August, shell out for a shaded club seat or plan accordingly with sunscreen. The home dugout is on the third base side , so the first base side means you're looking at the visiting dugout — always a nice touch.

Legends Hospitality, which runs concessions at Golden 1 Center and many other stadiums, took over operations at Sutter Health Park, and in the A's second season they've added new concourse items and shifted to locally sourced produce, bread, and cheeses in suites and clubs.

The standout items worth seeking out: the carne asada fries — a Cali-Mex classic featuring cheese sauce, pico de gallo, onions, sour cream, and guacamole atop crinkle-cut fries, with flank steak from Newport Meat's Fremont plant, cut and marinated in-house. Also notable are the "Dugout Fries" — a riff on In-N-Out's animal fries with a more herbaceous Thousand Island-style sauce, caramelized onions, and pepperoncini slices atop American cheese sauce.

At Coop and Kennel Pub, a Pastrami Fry runs $16, while a Pastrami Dog is $14. The Golden Spike Chophouse has Chicken Tenders & Fries for $15, a Cheeseburger & Fries for $16, and a Crispy Fried Chicken Sub for $13. Oso's Mexican Cantina has loaded nachos for $18, a walking taco for $15, a burrito for $13, and a Fiesta Salad for $15. Beer starts at $15 for American lager, with premium pours running a couple dollars more. Alcohol can be purchased until the first pitch of the eighth inning. The local partnership worth noting: Chando's Tacos is a local institution with locations throughout the area, including one about three miles from Sutter Health Park — a place you'll be glad you visited once someone asks if you tried Sacramento tacos.

Visiting fans are going to be fine here. The atmosphere is genuinely friendly by major-league standards — partly because Sacramento is a baseball city that's thrilled to have an MLB team at all, and partly because the park is small enough that everything feels convivial rather than hostile. That said, "Let's go Oakland" and "Sell the team" chants do break out when games get out of hand , and the underlying tension of the A's complicated exit from Oakland is part of the ambient noise of every game. The one thing away fans universally notice: after walking over the iconic bright yellow Tower Bridge, you enter via the Right Field Gate with almost no waiting — the crowd is small enough that lines are essentially nonexistent. Compared to an afternoon fighting through 40,000 people at Dodger Stadium, this feels almost too easy. Take the walk over the bridge. It's legitimately one of the best stadium approaches in the sport right now.

On foot/transit: The Tower Bridge walk back to Old Sacramento empties quickly due to the park's small footprint. Head across immediately after the final out — at 14,000 capacity, the crowd disperses fast. SacRT offers service to 7th and Capitol and 8th and Capitol downtown, and from there you can connect to wherever you're going. Yolobus Route 42 runs from West Sacramento back through downtown Sacramento toward Davis. If you're going back to SMF, Yolobus Route 42A stops directly at Cabaldon Pkwy at Sutter Health Park and runs hourly — check the last departure time before the game so you're not stranded.

Driving: Vehicles can remain in the lots for up to two hours after the game ends. The Ziggurat Garage exits onto 3rd Street and tends to move better than the surface lots. Wait 15–20 minutes after the final out before pulling out — at 14,000 capacity, the road clears faster than any MLB park you've been to.

Rideshare: The official Rideshare Zone is at 7th Street and Cabaldon Parkway. Surge pricing is real but moderate at this scale. Walk the two blocks to the pickup zone immediately after the game rather than waiting inside. The opinionated tip: walk across the Tower Bridge into Old Sacramento first. Once you're across the river, request your rideshare from there — you'll be out of the surge radius and your driver won't get stuck in the post-game lot traffic.

How do I get to Sutter Health Park without a car?

Take Yolobus Route 42A from Sacramento Airport (SMF) and get off at Cabaldon Pkwy at Sutter Health Park. From downtown Sacramento, walk across the Tower Bridge (15–20 min) or connect via SacRT light rail to 7th/8th & Capitol and walk from there.

What is the Sutter Health Park bag policy?

A clear bag policy is enforced. Non-clear diaper bags are allowed but subject to search. Bags cannot exceed 12"×6"×12". Non-clear bags must be no larger than 5"×8".

How much does parking cost at Sutter Health Park for A's games?

General parking runs $20–30 in the ballpark's own lots. City-operated street parking applies a $39 special event rate during A's games for vehicles parked more than two hours. Pre-purchase through the A's app when possible.

Is Sutter Health Park cashless?

Yes. There are no ATMs on site. The entire ballpark is cashless, and all major debit and credit cards are accepted.

When do gates open for A's games?

General gates open 1.5 hours prior to game time, and 2 hours prior for Season Ticket Members.

What are the best seats for away fans? There's no official away section, but the first base side (Sections 105–110, near the visiting dugout) and the right field grass berm are your best bets for a relaxed experience. Avoid the third base side lower bowl, which is closest to the home dugout and tends to be the most vocal.

Is Sutter Health Park open-air?

Yes — and due to Sacramento's summer heat, most games are scheduled in the evenings. For any day games between June and September, pack sunscreen and consider the shaded club seats; there is precious little shade in the main seating areas.

How far is Sutter Health Park from Sacramento International Airport (SMF)?

The distance is 13 miles, with a road distance of about 12 miles. By car, the drive takes approximately 15 minutes ; by Yolobus 42A, about 24 minutes, with hourly service.