Excerpts from 2 different articles:
^^ Time will tell whether or not shovels eventually hit the ground and the project completed, but this by far the most smoke and progress ever made toward a stadium project. Also, lots of talk for the past 2 weeks about the Hornets jumping from FCS to FBS and the timing of this announcement seems to support it. Looks like the Mountain West could possibly be a destination, but the SAC-12 has been pushing for PAC-12 membership. The 2028 upgrade timeline probably kills whatever long shot chance they had of achieving that goal, but if they do get these things done -- there should be more than a few conferences interested at that time in a top 20 media market.
We shall see. All I know is, this is GREAT news regardless.
I've been saying it for 25 years now. Sac State is a sleeping giant with the right vision and progress. It's in the heart of a sports-crazed metro area with only one professional team (2 for at least the next 3-4 years) and zero D1 FBS programs in the immediate area. Closest ones are UC Berkeley (80 miles from downtown), Stanford (120 miles from downtown) San Jose State (120 miles from downtown), and University of Nevada Reno (132 miles from downtown).
As we've seen with Sac's current 5-year run in the Big Sky, the valley is chock full of talent. Promoting to FBS with some brand new facilities and continued growth could keep a lot more of our local talent in house, along with drawing in more out of area talent (especially those from SoCal looking to move away from home).
Sacramento State has announced plans to construct a new state-of-the-art football and multi-use stadium that will replace the current temporary stands at Hornet Stadium, providing the University with a venue to leverage its location in one of the top 20 media markets in the nation.
The multi-sport facility will be designed to host football, men’s and women’s soccer, and men’s and women’s rugby. The stadium will also host collegiate, professional and international competitions, NCAA championships, concerts, club sports and other events including Commencement and Convocation.
The campus has secured architecture firm Populous to design the stadium, which will be constructed at the site of the current Hornet Stadium. The stadium will accommodate a minimum of 25,000 attendees and feature a horseshoe design including student sections, premium seating and boxes. Renderings will be released in the coming weeks.
Sacramento State to build 25,000 seat stadium in hopes to join FBS
Sacramento State has announced plans for a new 25,000 seat football stadium as the school looks to obtain an invitation to an FBS conference.sactownsports.com
Wood and Orr added that corporate signage would replace the name Hornet Stadium on the venue.
The plan, the two campus leaders said, is to start taking down Hornet Stadium at the end of this football season with the aim of having the new facility ready by the start of the 2028 football season. Sacramento State would continue to play home games at Hornet Stadium, Orr said.
“It’s about time, right,” said Orr, the Sacramento-raised AD who was showing off his Hornets green tie. “It’s about time we build a stadium worthy of its campus and community. It’s time for something new. When President Wood first got here last year, he asked me what we need to be the best of the best in athletics. We need a new football stadium, new facilities, more athletic scholarships. The first step of the plan was to get a football stadium and today, we’re announcing that. That’s a tremendous, tremendous step.”
Officials said Kansas City-based sports architectural giant Populous would design the stadium, which would be built on the current stadium’s footprint and would “accommodate a minimum of 25,000 attendees.” Officials said the design would be in a horseshoe design that would include a “student sections, premium seating and boxes.”
Renderings were not released Thursday but were expected to be shown “in the coming weeks.”
It’s unclear what the price tag on the stadium would be, though Wood told Sac State employees that “there will be many announcements about the stadium in the coming months, including naming partners, co-tenants, entertainment partners, and other sources of funds associated with this capital project,” adding that the school had “multiple funding sources,” from money earmarked for student athletics, donor funds and sponsorships.
What about basketball?
Last year, Wood announced a similar project to replace the Nest, the school’s basketball arena that was 69 years old.
In November, Wood said funding has been approved to create an events center just beyond Hornet Stadium in The Well fitness and health facility that would replace the Nest.
^^ Time will tell whether or not shovels eventually hit the ground and the project completed, but this by far the most smoke and progress ever made toward a stadium project. Also, lots of talk for the past 2 weeks about the Hornets jumping from FCS to FBS and the timing of this announcement seems to support it. Looks like the Mountain West could possibly be a destination, but the SAC-12 has been pushing for PAC-12 membership. The 2028 upgrade timeline probably kills whatever long shot chance they had of achieving that goal, but if they do get these things done -- there should be more than a few conferences interested at that time in a top 20 media market.
We shall see. All I know is, this is GREAT news regardless.
I've been saying it for 25 years now. Sac State is a sleeping giant with the right vision and progress. It's in the heart of a sports-crazed metro area with only one professional team (2 for at least the next 3-4 years) and zero D1 FBS programs in the immediate area. Closest ones are UC Berkeley (80 miles from downtown), Stanford (120 miles from downtown) San Jose State (120 miles from downtown), and University of Nevada Reno (132 miles from downtown).
As we've seen with Sac's current 5-year run in the Big Sky, the valley is chock full of talent. Promoting to FBS with some brand new facilities and continued growth could keep a lot more of our local talent in house, along with drawing in more out of area talent (especially those from SoCal looking to move away from home).