Sacramento Republic FC has dramatically overhauled its stadium project in the Railyards district, officials announced Tuesday, with plans to nearly double its expected capacity.
The team scrapped plans for an open-air, 12,000-seat stadium, in favor of a larger, 20,000-seat facility with a canopy.
New renderings show a design with a canopy that covers the seating areas around the field, with the center open to the air. The team said the four large trusses at the top of the canopy will weigh 3,800 tons, and become a feature of Sacramento’s skyline.
The new capacity would exceed that of the Golden 1 Center, which seats 17,600 fans for NBA games. For special events, like festivals and touring shows, the soccer stadium would be capable of hosting 27,000 guests, according to a news release.
“With this stadium, Wilton Rancheria is reclaiming our space and matching the ambition of the region,” said Jesus Tarango, chairman of Wilton Rancheria, in the release.
The Wilton Rancheria bought a majority stake in Republic FC in late 2024 and took on the stadium build, lending momentum to a project that had struggled for financing.
The Wilton Rancheria had previously planned to build the smaller stadium so that it could one day be expanded to host 8,000 more fans, to meet MLS standards.
Republic FC’s managing partner, Kevin Nagle, said the team has known for years that the region is capable of supporting a larger stadium. A 20,000-seat stadium with a roof over every seat, he continued, “is not an overreach.”
“It is exactly the venue Sacramento has earned, and we are proud to deliver it,” Nagle said in a statement.
The team held a groundbreaking ceremony for the site in the former railyard in August. Since then, workers have graded the soil, but have not yet poured a foundation. Work on public infrastructure, like streets and storm drains, will be underway by the end of April, the team said.
Nearby, construction of Kaiser Permanente’s planned, 310-bed hospital is underway. Mayor Kevin McCarty said last month that work has also begun on the former warehouses in the southern section of the Railyards, which developers plan to convert into retail, restaurants and a music venue.
The previous configuration was expected to cost $175 million and be ready in time for the 2027 season. The team’s news release did not say the new estimated cost of the stadium, which is now expected to open for the 2028 season.
A rendering shows a view from a seat at the Republic FC stadium in the Sacramento Railyards. Manica
Previous plans to build a 20,000-seat MLS stadium in the Railyards were expected to cost $300 million. An investor group led by businessman Ron Burkle was awarded an MLS expansion team in 2019, but backed out in 2021, citing pandemic-era construction cost hikes and a $50 million increase in the league entrance fee.
Though the MLS looms large in Sacramento, the United Soccer League, where Sacramento Republic FC currently plays, has announced plans to launch a “Division One” League in 2028.
The league would introduce the first promotion and relegation system in U.S. soccer — a structure common in soccer leagues around the world, wherein the top-performing teams each season are elevated to the higher division, and the last-place teams demoted to a lower division.
The team’s new stadium plans will bring Sacramento another venue capable of hosting concerts, festivals and other events on the scale of the Golden 1 Center. And it marks a new burst of momentum for the largely vacant Railyards district.
The 244-acre district has been mired in costly environmental cleanup and ownership changes since railyard operators pulled out in the 1990s. But in recent years, plans for the Kaiser hospital and other developments have gotten underway.
Officials often describe the Railyards as one of the nation’s largest infill projects — and an opportunity to double the size of Sacramento’s downtown.
This story was originally published March 24, 2026 at 6:51 AM.
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Annika Merrilees is a business reporter for The Sacramento Bee. She previously spent five years covering business and health care for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.