Bases are loaded
California’s capital city has been known for many things over the years. It has the nickname of the City of Trees, second only to Paris. Marketing materials and an annual Tower Bridge Dinner put it on the map as the Farm-to-Fork Capital for all the produce in the area and creative chefs bringing home culinary prizes.
Mercy General Hospital was also my birthplace, and I lived in the 916 and raised a family there until about 15 years ago. I love any chance I can get to check out what is new. Lo and behold, while I was gone, the place got sporty.
Meet and Stay
I had the pleasure of staying in the new Fort Sutter Hotel, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, a fun boutique brainchild of now deceased restaurateur Randy Paragary in the expanding medical mecca of midtown. Paragary was one of the first waves of entrepreneurs to transform Sacramento’s foodie scene in the 1980s, along with the late Biba Caggiano and the Selland Family of The Kitchen fame. Fun fact: Paragary’s, a block down the street from Fort Sutter Hotel, was where my husband and I had our first proper date.
But Fort Sutter Hotel wasn’t the only notable new kid on the citywide block. A creative historical reuse was Hyatt Centric Sacramento Downtown, which opened in 2021 with 172 guest rooms and a swanky The Seventh Street Standard restaurant serving creative cocktails and summer corn soup that could change your life.
It is around the corner from the vibrant Downtown Commons (DoCo for the cool kids) and Golden 1 Center, home of the NBA Sacramento Kings and The Beam—a purple laser that shoots into the sky when the home team wins. DoCo is also where Kimpton Sawyer Hotel hosts visiting teams in oversized beds and a bevy of medical meetings in 22,000 sq. ft. of event space.
I had to visit some of my longtime favorites while I was there. The Citizen Hotel, Autograph Collection is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the building on J Street by renovating the stately library bar where I once held monthly Writers Who Wine events. A fun, tented rooftop space has seen countless political, corporate and social events over the years.
Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel, one of two convention center hotels along with Hyatt Regency Sacramento, is completing a $20 million room renovation. I remember when the Julia Morgan-designed public market was revitalized as a hospitality center and attended many events in the 19,300 sq. ft. of art-filled meeting space there.
Experience
The reinvention of SAFE Credit Union Convention and Performing Arts District was a sight for my bespectacled eyes. I remember talk of plans to modernize the area when I was in town those decades ago, and the transformation was thoughtful in terms of functionality to get groups in and out. During my visit, setup was happening for a major youth volleyball tournament on one side of the building, while in the dramatic west entry ballroom was a bustling immigrant resource activation, and upstairs in ballroom B, a science conference was underway, complete with solar dioramas hanging from the ceiling.
Of course, I saved the most exciting news for last. Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, a place I enjoyed for energetic minor league River Cats games, is now also home to the MLB Athletics as the team prepares to go to a new home in Las Vegas. I attended a game against the Yankees in the Visit Sacramento suite, and watching the sun set over the Tower Bridge with my hometown in the background was proof that The River City has, literally, joined the big leagues.
