A’s Will Play on Grass in Sacramento, Bowing to Player Pressure

The A’s will play on a grass field in Sacramento, not artificial turf as previously expected, in the first major modification of the team’s three-season interim stay in the California capital before relocating to Las Vegas.

After emotionally finishing a 57-season stay in Oakland, the A’s will play the 2025–2027 campaigns at Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park, also home of the Giants’ top farm club, the River Cats. But a previous plan of installing turf to help manage that heavy ballpark use soon ran into concerns given the extreme summer heat of Sacramento. Temperatures can routinely reach triple digits there—conditions that would be exacerbated by the turf field—and the city this past summer had its hottest 20-day stretch in recorded history. 

Instead, the league and the A’s have bowed to consistent concerns from players. 

“Our shared, primary concern is ensuring the best and safest playing surface for the A’s, River Cats, and visiting players,” an MLB spokesman said in a statement. “In light of the players’ clear preference for natural grass, and after weighing with the MLB Players Association 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.”

There will be a series of other upgrades at Sutter Health Park to help the facility meet MLB standards, including a new batter’s eye, renovated bullpens and home clubhouse, and expanded dugouts. MLB also intends to schedule as many A’s home games as possible at night. 

The A’s, meanwhile, plan to raise their payroll in Sacramento after ranking last in MLB this year with an outlay of $63.4 million.