Sacramento State announced their plans for a new multi-use football stadium in a press conference on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024.
The press conference featured President Luke Wood, Athletic Director Mark Orr and football head coach Andy Thompson speaking about the significance of the new stadium. Wood said the new facility will host events such as: football, men’s and women’s soccer, rugby, intramural, recreational and club sports, convocation, graduation and concerts.
The new multi-use stadium will hold a minimum of 25,000 attendees, have premium seating, boxes, student sections and feature a horseshoe design, Wood said.
Wood also said they will release the renderings of the stadium in the coming weeks.
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Populous, a well known architecture firm, will design the new stadium, according to Wood.
“Populous has designed some of the most notable stadiums in entertainment and sports venues, including Camden Yards, Oracle Park, Citi Field, Yankee Stadium, Petco Park, the upcoming Buffalo Bills stadium, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Colorado State’s Canvas stadium, T-Mobile Arena in Vegas, Climate Pledge Arena, The Sphere, Churchill Downs and Wimbledon,” Wood said.
Wood said they will tear down the current Hornet Stadium at the end of the season and release more details on the finances in the coming weeks. “We just welcomed our largest incoming class. Our institution is growing. We actually expect we’re going to be receiving enrollment growth dollars from the state this year as well,” Wood said. “So we’re in a good position and this project won’t be affecting the underlying budget for Sacramento State.”
Wood said there are multiple funding sources for the project that include, “dollars earmarked, specifically only for athletic use, donor funds, sponsorships, sponsorships and plant co-tenants.”
This announcement comes after a feasibility study released Tuesday focused on Sac State’s jump to the FBS. The feasibility study said Sac State had to improve its facilities, such as an increased capacity for their stadium with additions of sponsorship opportunities through temporary and permanent signage and other additional improvements.
Orr said the timeline of the new stadium is still uncertain and where the team might play during the construction will be determined by the architects.
“If it appears that, according to the construction schedule we can’t play a season, or something like that at the current stadium, then we’ll find alternative locations,” Orr said. “If it looks like we can make it work, then great, but we’re going to get that work done over the course of the next several weeks.”
