Cubs' third 2025 opening day ushers in new era for A's in Sacramento: 'Rather be playing in Oakland' (2025)

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Cubs lined up along the first-base line Monday for their third opening-day ceremonies of the year. The first iteration included smoke machines and giant Pikachu in the Tokyo Dome on March 18. The second was amplified by Chase Field’s booming sound system last Thursday in Phoenix.

Monday’s festivities played out at Sutter Health Park, home of the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, with a capacity of about 14,000.

The Cubs were the first team to face the Athletics in a regular-season game in their new temporary home — theoretically a three-year layover on their way to Las Vegas.

“I’d rather be playing in Oakland,” said Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner, who grew up there rooting for his hometown team. “Oakland is a special place for me. I’m really grateful I got to play there in 2023 and got to share that with a lot of my favorite people there.”

A years-long stadium battle and a rift between A’s ownership and Oakland fans led to what the A’s billed as a historic first game in Sacramento.

“There was probably some stuff that could have been done in the last five-plus years to figure this out,” said Cubs left fielder Ian Happ, who had been heavily involved with the players’ union in recent years. “But I think it’s going to be a great atmosphere. And I’ve been saying this: Fifteen-thousand people in a 15,000-person stadium is a good atmosphere. I think the city of Sacramento seems very excited. Ticket sales seem good. All of those things are positive for the game.”

The A’s have made improvements to the ballpark, which they will share with the River Cats, a Giants affiliate. The visiting clubhouse, although cramped and located in left field, clearly was renovated recently.

“You know what? It might be good for team camaraderie because once you’re in the dugout, you can’t come in [to the clubhouse],” Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon said. “If you’re a starting pitcher, you can’t be shuffling in to go grab snacks or get treatment. You’ve got to be out there to cheer on your team. So it’s definitely different, but honestly, it’s a lot nicer than I thought.”

The A’s abandoned a plan to put in artificial turf after pushback from the players’ union and concerns about heat in the summer, but there are still other wrinkles. The usual media space was too small to accommodate the influx of journalists for the home opener, so all visiting media members were assigned seats in an outdoor auxiliary press box that was just rows of school-style desk chairs.

In the first inning Monday night, just before Dansby Swanson hit a solo home run as part of a rally that gave the Cubs a 4-0 lead, the scoreboards went out. But the issue was fixed before the next batter.

“Major-league fields have three decks, so that’s a little bit different,” Happ said. “The lights and all of that stuff, there’s definitely things that don’t feel like a big-league park. But the play on the field’s going to be the same.”