The Railyards Stadium is a planned 21,000 seat
soccer-specific stadium
Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada to refer to a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi-pu ...
to be built in
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. It will serve as the home for
Sacramento Republic FC
Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that plays in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, the ...
, a
USL
The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...
club, with intentions to join
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
as an expansion team. The stadium is part of the
Sacramento Railyards
The Sacramento Railyards (or Railyard Specific Plan) is an urban infill project of approximately at the western terminus of the First transcontinental railroad located within Sacramento's Central City community, between the downtown Central Busin ...
redevelopment project and it was unanimously approved in April 2019 by the Sacramento City Council, The stadium was scheduled to be completed by the start of the 2023 MLS season. However, the Sacramento expansion bid has been placed on indefinite hold as of February 2021. The status of the stadium remains undecided.
History
In late 2011, a group led by former California Assembly Speaker
Fabian Núñez
Fabian Núñez (also transcribed variously as Fabián Núñez, Fabian Nuñez and Fabian Nunez; born December 27, 1966) is an American politician and labor union adviser. A member of the Democratic Party, he served three two-year terms as a memb ...
began exploring the possibility of having an MLS team in the Sacramento area, originally looking at stadium sites in the suburb of
Elk Grove. Sacramento Republic FC was announced as a 2014 expansion team for the second-division
United Soccer League
United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...
on December 3, 2012. Local business leaders, including Warren Smith, hoped to convert the franchise to a Major League Soccer team by 2016.
On September 17, 2014, the team announced its intentions to acquire property at the Sacramento Railyards infill project for a soccer stadium. More details of the stadium were announced in late 2015:
HNTB
HNTB Corporation is an American infrastructure design firm. Founded in 1914 in Kansas City, Missouri, HNTB began with the partnership made by Ernest Emmanuel Howard with the firm Waddell & Harrington, founded in 1907.
Considered as one of the m ...
was hired as the lead architects of the stadium, and the design of the stadium (partially influenced by fan input) was revealed on December 1, 2015. The official go-ahead from the City Council was given on November 10, 2016. However, the construction of the stadium was delayed as the team did not have an investor who satisfied the requirements of MLS. On January 22, 2019,
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...
co-owner
Ron Burkle
Ronald Wayne Burkle (born November 12, 1952) is an American businessman. He is the co-founder and managing partner of The Yucaipa Companies, LLC, a private investment firm that specializes in U.S. companies in the distribution, logistics, food, ...
was announced as the investor needed for MLS promotion. Around two months later, the stadium design was updated; additions to the old design included a 360-degree concourse/pedestrian walkway, new seating at the canopy level on the west side of the stadium, and additional field-level seating areas. The cost for the stadium was raised to approximately $252 million. Following the expansion announcement, construction on the stadium was expected to begin in 2020 ahead of a 2022 opening, but the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
delayed the move to MLS to 2023. The MLS expansion bid was placed on hold in March 2021 after Burkle left the ownership group.
In April 2022,the team announced plans for a downsized stadium on the site.The revised stadium plan,which is not contingent on the revival of the MLS bid,calls for a 12,000-15,000 seat facility that can be expanded in the future should demand warrant it.
Design
The current stadium design was unveiled in April 2019. Although the stadium is designed with a closed bowl, it will have separate stands on different sides, creating a distinct character for each one, reminiscent of
St James' Park
St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England.
St James' Park ...
. In order to meet the designer's goal of creating MLS's best home-field advantage, the seating will feature the steepest grade in the league, as well as an untiered east side that bears similarities to
Westfalenstadion's Yellow Wall.
Major events
College soccer
On October 14, 2020, the
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
announced that the stadium would host the semifinals and finals of the
NCAA College Cup
The NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament, sometimes known as the College Cup, is an American intercollegiate soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I men's national champ ...
soccer tournament in 2024 and 2025; the men's tournament in 2024 and the
Women's College Cup
The NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship, sometimes known as the Women's College Cup, is an American college soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I women's national ...
in 2025.
References
External links
ProjectSacramento MLS Stadium
{{Portal bar, North America, United States, Association football, Architecture
Sports venues in Sacramento, California
Major League Soccer stadiums
Proposed stadiums in the United States
Soccer venues in California