Sutter Health Park is the home

ballpark A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimensions can vary widely from place to pla ...

of the

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 ye ...

Minor League Baseball team, which is a member of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Ba ...

. Known as Raley Field from 2000 to 2019, the facility was built on the site of old warehouses and rail yards in

West Sacramento, California West Sacramento (also known as West Sac) is a city in Yolo County, California, United States. The city is separated from Sacramento by the Sacramento River, which also separates Sacramento and Yolo counties. It is a fast-growing community; the ...

, across the

Sacramento River The Sacramento River ( es, Río Sacramento) is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento� ...

from the

California State Capitol The California State Capitol is the seat of the California state government, located in Sacramento, the state capital of California. The building houses the chambers of the California State Legislature, made up of the Assembly and the Senate, a ...

. It is directly adjacent to downtown

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

History

The $46.5 million stadium was built in eight-and-a-half months, but extended periods of bad weather forced the River Cats on a season-opening one month-long road trip, as completion was delayed 45 days. The completion time however was estimated to be about two years. The home opener was played on May 15, 2000. The stadium is one of the few professional sports facilities in the nation built without a public sector contribution. Although constructed using bonds financed by the River City Stadium Financing Authority, bond payments are paid from ticket, concession, advertising, and other revenues, not taxes. Because the $46.5 million project cost was too large for the host city to finance, Christopher Cabaldon, in his first term as Mayor of

West Sacramento West Sacramento (also known as West Sac) is a city in Yolo County, California, United States. The city is separated from Sacramento by the Sacramento River, which also separates Sacramento and Yolo counties. It is a fast-growing community; the ...

, recruited Sacramento County and Yolo County to join his city in a joint-powers agency which became the stadium financing authority. Because of the success of the stadium, its private revenue sources have been more than sufficient to repay the construction bonds and build a bond reserve. The stadium has 10,624 permanent seats and grass berms in both right and left field for a total capacity of 14,014. Its original capacity was 14,611 and was decreased to 14,414 in 2005 with the addition of a party deck. It further decreased in 2010 with the opening of the Diamond Club behind home plate. The stadium has 2,798 club seats and 750 seats in 36 suites. The

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of ...

for the facility were sold to

Raley's Raley’s Supermarkets is an independent, family-owned American grocery and retail technology company headquartered in West Sacramento, California. Raley's was founded in 1935 by Thomas P. Raley in Placerville, California. The Raley’s Companies ...

, a regional chain of supermarkets which is also based in West Sacramento, for $15 million over 20 years. The stadium was not designed with expansion in mind; therefore, if a major league ballclub ever moved to Sacramento there would be significant work required. The ballpark hosted the 2005

Triple-A All-Star Game The Triple-A All-Star Game was an annual baseball game held from 1988 to 2019 between professional players from the affiliated Triple-A leagues of Minor League Baseball. These leagues were the International League (IL) and Pacific Coast League ...

in which the

All-Stars defeated the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

All-Stars, 11–5. There was discussion of the

Sacramento Mountain Lions The Sacramento Mountain Lions was a professional American football team based in Sacramento, California that played in the United Football League. The franchise originated as the California Redwoods, and played its home games in San Francisco a ...

, an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

team in the United Football League, using the field during the 2012 season. A final agreement to this effect was announced on August 6, 2012. The UFL, including the Mountain Lions, abruptly shut down operations in the middle of the 2012 season. On July 18, 2013, Raley Field hosted a

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

match, a friendly featuring Mexican side Dorados de Sinaloa and

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

side Norwich City F.C. The game finished 3–0 to Norwich, with goals from Luciano Becchio,

Anthony Pilkington Anthony Neil James Pilkington (born 6 June 1988) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a winger. After playing non-league football briefly, he began his professional career with spells at Stockport County and Huddersfield T ...

and

Josh Murphy Joshua Murphy (born 24 February 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Oxford United. He began his career at Norwich City, for whom he scored on his professional debut for in a League Cup match against Watfo ...

. The match's attendance was 14,014. As part of the Golden State Hockey Rush, Raley Field hosted a minor league hockey game between the

Stockton Heat The Stockton Heat were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2015 to 2022. The team was based in Stockton, California, and was affiliated with the National Hockey League (NHL) Calgary Flames. The He ...

and the

Bakersfield Condors The Bakersfield Condors are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Bakersfield, California. The team is owned by and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers. The Condors play their hom ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the lea ...

on December 18, 2015. The ballpark was renamed Sutter Health Park before the 2020 season as part of a naming rights agreement with Sacramento-based Sutter Health.

Gallery

File:City Skyline Raley Field.JPG, View of the city skyline from the grandstand File:RaleyFieldSignMay2007.jpg, Entrance during the day File:Raley Field.JPG, Entrance during the night File:Outside Sutter Health Park.jpg, Entrance with new sign

References

External links

Official WebsiteSacramento River Cats – Sutter Health Park
{{Authority control Baseball venues in California Ice hockey venues in California Outdoor ice hockey venues in the United States Sports venues in Sacramento County, California Sports venues in West Sacramento, California American football venues in California Minor league baseball venues Sacramento Mountain Lions stadiums Sacramento River Cats United Football League (2009–2012) venues 2000 establishments in California Sports venues completed in 2000 Pacific Coast League ballparks