Sacramento State is currently working on fundraising for a new 5,000-seat event center with the Power of 1,000 Hornets campaign, an effort to rally 1,000 Sac State alumni to donate money toward the cause.

The new event center would replace the Hornets Nest as the home for Hornet athletics and would cost upwards of $125 million, a significant amount of money that is not in the budget for the Sac State athletic department.

In an effort to mitigate the financial problems the Nest presents, the “Power of 1,000 Hornets” campaign was established by Associate Athletic Director for External Affairs Markus Jennings to get the ball rolling on funding the new events center.

The campaign is a grassroots effort that involves banding 1,000 Sac State alumni in the region together to fund the proposed 5,000-seat arena.

“There are over 100,000 alums in this region,” Jennings said. “The reason why we did this is to say, ‘Hey look, no gift amount is insignificant.’ It really started when [Sacramento Bee] writer Ailene Voisin did an article and said, ‘With all of the alums in this community, if everyone gave $1,140, then we’ll have a new event center,’ and we just ran with that, because it is true.”

The Nest has been part of the fabric of Sac State for decades and has provided quite the home court advantage for Hornet sports over the years.

However, according to athletics leaders on campus, the old and cramped venue prevents Sac State athletics from generating revenue due to its limited capacity.

The Nest, which was built in 1955 and only seats 1,012 and according to men’s basketball coach Brian Katz, is one of the most outdated gymnasiums in Division I athletics.

“I have a guy who has seen who has seen all 351 [Division I arenas],” Katz said. “The guy said [The Nest] is 350th. He said there’s one that’s worse. … I have always said that the biggest eyesore on campus is the gym.”

Although The Nest is one of the poorer arenas in college sports, Katz said that the compact size of the gymnasium creates an environment that is actually advantageous to the basketball team.

“We’ve got one of the best records in the West Coast, mid-major-wise, because it is a very small venue, and if you get 1,200 in there, 300 standing room only, it’s a hard place to play, … so it’s become an asset in that way,” Katz said.

The men’s basketball team has been dominant at The Nest in recent years, with a record of 44-14 over the last four years at home, indicating the impact of the unique atmosphere.

That impact on the court, however, does not help the athletic program when it comes to revenue, as the Nest is clearly a liability in that regard.

Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator Lois Mattice said the Nest’s limitations are definitely hampering the earning potential of Hornet athletics.

“We can’t make any money off of tickets in basketball,” Mattice said. “The only revenue that we have a chance to make any money back on is football, and that’s because of the size of the stadium … At our level, we try and just break even.”

According to Jennings, the “Power of 1,000 Hornets” campaign has already raised a significant amount of money in a short period of time, aided greatly by a $750,000 donation from Sacramento philanthropist Ernest Tschannen on Oct. 27, 2015.

“We’re only about 150 people, but we’re a shade under $1 million,” Jennings said. “We haven’t even hit a year yet, but we’re going to keep pushing until we get 1,000 folks.”

The event center would make a major impact on campus, not only for the athletic program but also through playing host to concerts, graduations, speakers and other events.

“I can guarantee you if we had a [5,000-seat facility], we would get one of the presidential candidates,” Jennings said. “We are primed for that, being here in Sacramento in the capital. [The event center] would be a game-changer on this campus.”

The impact that the proposed building would have on the athletic department would be massive, both with regard to recruiting and exposure.

Katz said that he tells prospective recruits up front that the Nest is probably not as nice as their high school gym was, a potential turn-off for them. A new arena would allow Katz and the rest of the Hornet athletic department to use the venue as a plus rather than a deficiency.

“It would mean more dollars for the entire athletic program, more sponsorship, more ability to fundraise,” Katz said. “Our league is making a big push in men’s basketball to be on national TV. That’s great, but as we sit here right now, Sac State will not host a game. We’ll be on TV, but we’ll be on the road. … We can’t have a home game in [the Nest] on TV. ESPN already came in [and said] the sidelines won’t work.”

The Nest is certainly a nostalgic place for Sac State students and alumni, but it is also a major hindrance to the athletic program’s growth and prosperity. The “Power of 1,000 Hornets” campaign has given new hope that the proposed event center will be built and will make a major difference for the athletic program and the university as a whole.

“I can’t wait for the day to have an arena,” Mattice said. “We’re a sleeping giant that’s just waiting to explode, and that’s going to happen when we get an arena. [Sac State] is going to be a destination.”