River Cats to host Oakland A's on March 31

Sacramento will host Major League Baseball for the first time in half a decade when the Oakland A's visit the Sacramento River Cats on March 31, 2012. This marks the fifth time that Raley Field has hosted the four-time World Series champion Oakland A's - the first four games were sellouts.

River Cats season ticket holders and 36-game Founders' Club ticket holders will receive one complimentary River Cats-A's ticket per paid seat. Fans with 40-game flex plan Founders' Club accounts will receive one ticket per paid plan. All other River Cats season ticket holders, plus A's season ticket holders, will have the opportunity to purchase individual tickets to the exhibition game during a special online pre-sale beginning February 1, 2012, at ticketmaster.com. Individual tickets start at $12.

Tickets to the exhibition game will go on sale to the general public via ticketmaster.com on Feb. 15, 2012 as part of the Franchise Frenzy Ticket Package, a 5-game ticket plan that includes:

• One (1) ticket to the River Cats vs. A's exhibition game (Saturday, March 31 at 6:05pm)
• One (1) voucher to the River Cats vs. Stockton Ports scrimmage (Monday, April 2 at 7:05pm)
• Three (3) vouchers to any other 2012 regular season River Cats home game (must be the same seat level or better as the A's game).

Prices for the Franchise Frenzy Ticket Package start at $36.

The March 31 exhibition game will mark the first time a Major League team has played in Sacramento since the River Cats hosted the A's on March 29, 2007. Since the River Cats' inaugural season in 2000, the team has hosted eight Major League games: the River Cats have played the Oakland A's (2001, 2003, 2006, 2007), San Diego Padres (twice in 2001), and Colorado Rockies (2004), while the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners also faced off in an exhibition game at Raley Field in 2003.

Notable River Cats who have gone on to play for the A's include: Outfielders Nick Swisher, Eric Byrnes and Carlos Gonzalez; infielders Jemile Weeks, Cliff Pennington and Mark Ellis; catcher Kurt Suzuki; pitchers Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill and Barry Zito; and coaches/managers Bob Geren, Rick Rodriguez, Tony DeFrancesco and Todd Steverson.

The River Cats begin their 2012 regular season on Friday, April 13 against the Reno Aces. The opening series is a matchup of the 2011 Pacific Coast League Pacific Conference Championship Series where the River Cats overcame an 0-2 series deficit to win the 5-game series. The River Cats have won 10 division titles in 12 years the most of any major, American professional sports team this century.

River Cats season tickets can be purchased by calling (916) 371-HITS (4487).