SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento State University has been on a roll making huge athletic announcements as the campaign for the PAC-12 conference continues. This week is no different.
The NCAA announced Sacramento again will be hosting rounds of the Division I Basketball championship with Sacramento State as the host school. New renderings were also released for Hornet Stadium.
The new multi-use stadium will be designed by Populous, the same group responsible for Oracle Park and the Safe Credit Union Convention Center.
Athletic Director Mark Orr is excited to share the new design.
“Shortly after the season, we will determine a timeline (and) construction schedule. We have track-and-field meets in the spring, so we will be working with Populous over the next few weeks to see when exactly we can bulldoze it," he said.
While there is no official timeline, Orr said he would love to see football along with rugby, soccer and other sports in play by 2026.
However, the new Hornet Stadium will not have a track. Instead, they will upgrade an existing facility with a brand new track and seating.
Many students are wondering if their fees will be impacted.
“The funds being dedicated to these projects are not coming from the university’s General Fund. These are funds dedicated to athletics through philanthropic gifts, corporate sponsorship or dedicated athletic revenue,” Orr said.
Orr said student tickets will continue to be free even with the new stadium and even if they move to a different conference. Student fees are also locked in for the next three years.
Also announced this week, Golden 1 Center said if Sacramento State moves to a bigger conference, the Hornets can share the court with the Sacramento Kings.
The NCAA also announced Golden 1 Center with Sacramento State will host Division I championship basketball games. The women’s regional championship rounds will be in 2026, and the first two rounds for the men will be held in 2027.
David Eadie is the chief sports entertainment officer for Visit Sacramento and he said, while there is no tangible way to measure momentum, the Sacramento sports scene certainly has a lot of it right now. Golden 1 Center hosted the first round of March Madness in 2023, bringing in some of the eight best teams in the country and a lot of revenue for the city.
“Rough estimates were $9.5 million in economic impact...,” Eadie said.
The hope is all these announcements will help with Sacramento’s sports profile, making it easier for Sacramento State to join another conference and the city to continue to draw large events.
Orr said Sacramento State is very happy in the Big Sky Conference and the new stadium is happening no matter what.
With the Golden 1 Center basketball games being more conditional on joining a new conference if that doesn’t happen, Sacramento State hopes they could still maybe play a few special games downtown. If the team moves, they would provide students transportation to attend games.
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