Athletics’ Tyler Soderstrom (left) and Lawrence Butler are two of the A’s young stars who will play … More
Back in January, the Athletics sold out all their home tickets for their inaugural season in West Sacramento, Calif. The result now: The A’s resale market for home-game tickets is booming.
The cheapest available standard seats for the team’s home opener at 14,000-seat Sutter Health Park against the Chicago Cubs on Monday are hitting the $90 range on SeatGeek, which is MLB ’s official resale ticket partner, and those prices may skyrocket on game day.
A handful of lawn seats on “Home Run Hill” — the grassy zone beyond the right-field wall, where Sacramento River Cats fans for years have watched games from beach towels and lawn chairs — are pricing out at around $75.
Gametime, a secondary market ticket site, recently revealed metrics measuring the median ticket price at $181 per seat for A’s home games, which ranks as the most expensive median price in baseball, even ahead of the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who rank second at $177.
According to a recent Sacramento Bee analysis, prices started at an average of about $86 across the A’s opening three-game series with Cubs, with the cheapest available tickets on the lawn and $120 for standard seats in the stands.
Not a single ticket on Vivid Seats for the A’s home opener is cheaper than $97; and that includes lawn seats. By comparison, the Giants’ home opener vs. the Seattle Mariners on April 4 is averaging around $55 across StubHub, SeatGeek and Vivid Seats.
It’s not just tickets for the Athletics’ home-opening series that are pricier. SeatGeek as of last week listed the average starting price for all 81 A’s home games this season at about $59, compared to $55 for Dodgers tickets and just $21 for Giants tickets.
Single-game tickets for direct purchase through the Athletics quickly sold out after going on sale in January.
Fans also paid about $183 to $244 per game for A’s season tickets in the second tier of availability, according to The Bee’s reporting.
To welcome the A’s to their new home, Sutter Health Park received numerous upgrades, including a new scoreboard as part of the upgraded video experience; enhancements to the natural grass playing surface; Wi-Fi network and technology upgrades; digital displays and audio enhancements; updated amenities in clubhouses, dugouts and bullpens; premium club areas for fans and season ticket holders; and concession upgrades.
Check out some recent drone footage of Sutter Health Park:
The Athletics, who played the previous 57 seasons in Oakland, plan to play in West Sacramento before moving into a new stadium In Las Vegas in 2028.
The A’s will share the stadium with the Triple-A River Cats, the top minor league affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. The ballpark and the River Cats are owned by the Sacramento Kings.
Read the full article here