ELK GROVE, CA (MPG) – Major League Baseball, a custom happy
hour menu and the Sutter Health Park gameday atmosphere took over the 32 Brews
Street restaurant at Sky River Casino in Elk Grove on July 24 for the A’s watch
party against the Houston Astros.
More than 150 fans came out to watch the A’s put on a
clinic against Houston, holding the Astros to zero runs until the bottom of the
seventh inning and winning the game 5-2. Participants had three chances to win
prizes, including Sky River Salon tickets, an A’s straw hat and
bobbleheads.
Through the A’s previously established relationship with
the River Cats, Sky River Casino expanded its partnership to include the
Athletics because of the club’s 81 major league games that are played at Sutter
Health Park, A’s Vice-President of Sales and Business Operations Steve Fanelli
said.
Fanelli said Sky River has been a great supporter of the
Athletics and the club is excited for the opportunity to engage with
fans.
“For us to get off property and come to this beautiful
venue to do a watch party, it’s been super exciting for us and the fans that
are showing up here are happy to be here and this is great property here,”
Fanelli said.
Patrons eat food and drink beer as they watch the A’s play the Houston Astros at Sky River Casino’s A’s watch party at 32 Brews Street in Elk Grove on July 24.
Fans decked out in A’s T-shirts, jerseys, hats and other
apparel cheered on the A’s while watching across more than 40 televisions
within the 32 Brews Street establishment. Free gear awaited patrons who RSVP’d
for the event. On the tables and chairs of the restaurant, attendees found
Mason Miller bobbleheads, A’s T-shirts and foam baseballs as they filed into
the seating area.
“The fans have embraced us as a team,” Fanelli said.
“There’s a lot of people now with their A’s gear on and there’s a lot of cool
Sacramento items in the team shop that people are buying.”
Fanelli said that talking to fans and understanding how
they are enjoying their experience at the ballpark with Major League Baseball
in the Sacramento area is something he does almost nightly when the team is at
home.
“People are here to see major league baseball,” Fanelli
said. “There’s 30 great major league baseball teams, superstars from all over
the country and to have the opportunity to do that in this really defined
period of time, it’s unique and special, and it’s something that I think fans
are driving or coming from distances to experience.”
A lot of fans want to check out every ballpark, and now
there’s another one to check off the list at Sutter Health Park in West
Sacramento with three years left to check it off, Fanelli said.
The A’s four World Series trophies were on display at 32 Brews Street within the Sky River Casino, located at 1 Sky River Parkway in Elk Grove on July 24.
The addition of 81 major league games with the A’s tenure
in West Sacramento is estimated to bring hundreds of thousands of baseball fans
to the Sacramento region. With the A’s established connections in the Sacramento
area, their temporary stay in West Sacramento could prove to set the precedent
of professional baseball in Sacramento more permanently.
The A’s organization is partnered with multiple Sacramento
businesses and plans to host other watch parties throughout the season and the
team’s tenure in the city.
32 Brews Street had a curated watch-party menu for the
event, extending happy hour from 3 to 8 p.m. Food items were listed at $15 and
under, and alcoholic beverages saw several discounts across multiple drink
choices, featuring a special drink for $10 called the Los Atleticos Margarita.
The restaurant is located within Elk Grove’s Sky River Casino at 1 Sky River
Parkway.
For businesses looking to work and partner with the
Athletics, any connections previously established with the River Cats will help
navigate the necessary channels to establish connections with the A’s, due to
the partnership between the Athletics, Sacramento Kings and River Cats.
Fanelli said the A’s organization is all about helping to
cultivate community and grow baseball. Although the club isn’t in the Sacramento
area long-term, Fanelli said, they still have an obligation to the
community.
Balloons in the figure of an A’s baseball player stood outside the entrance to 32 Brews Street on July 24 for the A’s watch party against the Houston Astros.
“We want people to know that we care about the West
Sacramento community and local Sacramento area and region. It’s been great to us;
it’s been an amazing experience playing at Sutter Health Park. The fans have
been incredible,” Fanelli said.