The American professional soccer team Sacramento Republic FC is detailing construction plans for the club’s new stadium downtown in the Railyards (Sacramento, California, US) ahead of a key City Council meeting next month.
‘KCRA’ stated that the Republic filed documents with the City’s Planning Division recently. The Sacramento Republic FC President and General Manager (GM) Todd Dunivant said the club submitted paperwork with the aim of getting the City’s approval on June 10th.
The Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California (US) that competes in the Western Conference of the United Soccer League (USL) Championship, the second level in US soccer.
The Heart Health Park is a sports venue located on the grounds of Cal Expo in Sacramento, California, United States. The soccer-specific stadium has a capacity of 11,569 and includes a full-sized (120 x 80 yard) soccer field. The Heart Health Park is the current home of the Sacramento Republic FC soccer team.
The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system.
The Sacramento Republic FC’s Railyards Stadium, a 12,000-seat soccer-specific stadium, is planned for construction in Sacramento, California (US) with potential for expansion to 20,000 seats. Construction is expected to begin in early 2026 with completion slated for February 2027. The stadium will be part of a larger Railyards development including a hotel, a concert venue, residential, and retail spaces.
‘KCRA’ further stated that the club said it plans two phases for the stadium project covering 14.7 acres. For the first phase 12,000 seats are envisioned. That would expand to 20,000 seats during Phase Two.
This is lower than the initial plans for 25,000 seats when the Republic FC was first planning a large stadium as part of a bid to join the Major League Soccer (MLS – the top-level professional soccer league in the United States and Canada).
The filing says, “Phase 1 of the stadium is open to air and generally rectangular in structure, approximately 550 feet in length and 500 feet in width excluding the minor extension of elements such as the access stairs and the roof parapets. The stadium is surrounded by a wide concourse with single story service, operations, concessions, retail, and restroom facilities on the stadium and the street sides of the concourse.”
Phase 2 envisions a rectangular canopy roof above the stadium that would provide shade and rain protection. That would ultimately expand the building to approximately 700 feet in length and 575 feet in width.
The plan is still to open the stadium in 2027.
Stadium Ingress
The documents say the stadium’s primary entrance would be the Southwest corner with secondary entrances on the Southeast and the Northeast corners. Two general admissions entrances would face the Railyards Boulevard.
The stadium’s seating bowls could be accessed via stairs or ramps on all sides of the stadium.
Amenities at Different Levels
The stadium, as imagined in the planning documents, would include field, concourse and club levels along with a suite and Press level.
The field level would contain the VIP entrance to the stadium, the soccer pitch, general and field suite seating, locker rooms, clubs, lounges, concessions, retail, restrooms, kitchens, ticketing and security facilities.
The concourse level, located about eight feet above the field level, would include clubs and lounges, concessions, restrooms, storage, 26,000 square feet of conditioned space, and 156,000 square feet of open space.
The club level would have an elevated concourse for the fans to access the seating bowl grandstands on the North, South and East sides. It would contain 11,000 square feet of general admission space and 25,000 square feet of conditioned club space. The club space would include lounges, restrooms and concessions. The general admission areas would also have restrooms and portable concession stands.
An open-air plaza on the Northeast side of the stadium could provide more general seating access and food trucks could also be located on the North plaza. The outdoor plazas could also have video screens and speakers, according to the document.
Sustainability Efforts
The documents outline ways construction of the stadium could exceed minimum Green building and energy efficiency requirements. That would include water efficiency efforts and ways to reduce a heat island effect among other efforts.
The documents also say the stadium could provide valet bike parking for “events with sufficient demand”.
Architecture and Project Management Team
The Republic said the Machete Group (a real estate development and advisory firm specializing in arenas, stadiums and entertainment venues.), MANICA (a sports and entertainment venue architectural firm) and House & Robertson Architects, Inc. (a Los Angeles-based executive architecture firm) will serve as its development team for the stadium.
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