Sacramento State announces plan for new 25,000-seat football and multi-use stadium
The president was casual with athletic wear, and the athletic director ribbed him for not wearing a shirt and tie to match his fashion statement.
It was that sort of jovial setting at the Welcome Center at Sacramento State, where on Thursday school President Luke Wood and athletic director Mark Orr excitedly announced plans for a new 25,000-seat, multi-use football stadium, one in a number of steps to elevate the sports program for the university in California’s capital and to ultimately gain entry into a new conference.
“Today is a big day for Sacramento State, one of the biggest days for our students, our faculty and our community,” said Wood, decked in black Hornets football attire. “It’s my alma mater, too, and this is one of my greatest joys. I’ve spoken to staff, alumni and others about what they want from Sacramento State, and there’s been a very clear message — a desire for better athletic facilities to pave the road to one NCAA conference.”
Wood and Orr did not talk specifics of how much money has been raised and how much a new football stadium would cost and where exactly the finances are coming from, though they did assure that those questions will be answered in the coming weeks when renditions of the project are made public. They added that this announcement would not have come about without the security of the finances needed.
The Welcome Center was overflowing with coaches, student-athletes, faculty, alumni and media. Everyone thought big with bigger days ahead.
Wood and Orr said the new venue will be designed to host football, soccer and rugby and can host NCAA championship events, concerts, school graduations and more.
Wood and Orr added that corporate signage would replace the name Hornet Stadium on the venue. The project would be a much-needed reimagining of the East Sacramento university’s sports centerpiece, built in 1969 with a capacity of only 6,000 seats. The stadium has been the host of multiple USA Track & Field and NCAA athletic competitions and was renovated in 1992 to accommodate a minor-league football team, tripling the seating to more than 21,000.
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.
The theme was simple: Out with the old, in with the new.
“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.”
The price tag for the grand proposal, which would make Hornet Stadium the largest sports venue in the capital region, was not disclosed though Wood said the funds from a variety of sources including donor funds and future naming rights was “secured.”
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.”
In a letter to faculty and staff, Wood said the plan to rebuild the stadium was originally conceived by his predecessor, Robert S. Nelsen, “but we have expanded it to support the needs of multiple sports” and events.
“The existing stands, originally intended to be temporary, were built several decades ago and have required significant ongoing maintenance to ensure that the temporary facility could continue to support campus needs,” he said.
The last significant improvements came in 2010 when the university replaced the field with synthetic turf at a cost of $1 million.
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. The Board of Directors for the nonprofit that runs The Well and Sac State’s University Union hall unanimously approved a resolution to provide up to $5.2 million from reserves for the project, which includes seating that would far exceed The Nest’s 1,012-person capacity.
This story was originally published September 26, 2024 at 12:12 PM.