SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento State on Thursday officially announced plans to build a new multi-use football stadium that it says will "leverage its location in one of the top 20 media markets in the nation."
It is also being reported as a step in a push by those advocating for Sacramento State to join a reconstituted version of the Pac-12 Conference.
According to a press release, Sacramento State's new facility will be designed to host football, men's and women's soccer and women's rugby. The stadium, the release states, will also host collegiate, professional and international competitions, NCAA championships, concerts, club sports and other events.
"Today marks a significant milestone for Sacramento State," university president Luke Wood was quoted. "The construction of this new, multi-use stadium will take our athletic game experiences to a new level.
"The stadium will benefit multiple sports teams including football, soccer and rugby. The feasibility study completed in 2023 shows we not only need the improvements, but we have so much more we can offer our campus and community with a new stadium."
Sacramento State said its new stadium will be built at the site of the current Hornet Stadium, and will accommodate a minimum of 25,000 people. Renderings, the school said, will be released in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the SAC 12 Group, a local association made up of those advocating for Sacramento State to move up to to a higher level of competition, perhaps to the Pac-12, also released a statement Thursday.
"With the continued momentum from the university's commitment, business leaders looking to invest in the region, understanding the tremendous economic impact this will have on the market, need to step up and join us in supporting this effort," Josh Wood, co-chair of the SAC 12 Group, stated in a report by CBS Sacramento.
Sacramento State has competed in NCAA Division I athletics since 1992, and has played football at the I-AA/FCS level since 1993. The Hornets joined the Big Sky Conference in 1996.
