Aerial view of Sutter Health Park in Sacramento interim home of the Sacramento A’s. The A’s have not sold out one home game yet this season. The closest they came was for their home opener back on Mar 31, 2025 when they drew 12,119 in their 14,014 seat ballpark. (photo by ABC 10 Sacramento)

Athletics of the Lost Arc

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

At the current pace, the ATH playing at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento will draw around 700,000 people for the 2025 season. All the hype that preceded the season about “sold out” tickets before was like the hype failure of Ford’s Edsel.

In business, projecting success is crucial for attracting investment and building confidence. However, projecting success without a solid foundation can lead to problems and ultimately, failure. A strong business needs more than just a positive outlook; it requires a clear strategy, efficient operations, and a team capable of executing it.

Did the A’s “choose well” when they decided to play for three years in Sacramento? Only time will tell. I am not questioning the people or the City of Sacramento; they are just the consumers of the final product.

Common sense tells us that a Major League team playing for the first time in a city they have never played before will have at least a honeymoon of maybe a couple of dozen sellouts, but that has not happened. While the honeymoon has not turned into a divorce yet, it is not progressing as expected.

The Oakland Coliseum’s capacity for baseball was 45,000, compared to Sutter Park Sacramento’s capacity of 14,014 According to my research and all estimates, Sacramento is a dry-weather city for most of the summer.

During baseball season (April to September), they are lucky to get eight inches of rain. For those Oakland A’s fans who remember how rare rain-outs were at the Coliseum, Sacramento is in a different league regarding dry weather.

It is hard to comprehend that it has been 36 years since the first game of the 1989 World Series at the Oakland Coliseum vs. the San Francisco Giants. I worked on that historic event, which was temporarily delayed by the Loma Prieta earthquake.

The Haas family had a long record of success on the field, working with the community, and bringing championship teams to the people of Oakland and the Bay Area. It remains to be seen whether the current regime could duplicate such success.

Of all the promotions a team can have during their season schedule, the most seductive promotion is winning; that is the best thing a team can give to their fans, a winning season. As April concludes, we must wait and see if the 2025 A’s have “chosen wisely.”

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977 ending in 2024 (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame.

FUN THIS SUMMER FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY AQUA ADVENTURE WATER PARK OPENS MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND FREMONT, CA.