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Athletic Facilities

Hornet25 said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1956872728813920705

I'll hold off judgements until I know what they intend to build. If the State is willing to pony dollars and we get a Snapdragon type stadium, it might soften the blow.
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I’m am 99% pro on-campus. That’s what I’ve donated to. But, if they have some sort of grand plan locked in (doubtful) to build a 40,000 seat NorCal SnapDragon or Colorado State stadium, I’m in. Overall, just mostly frustrating that there isn’t progress in ANY direction….
 
Kadeezy said:
I’m am 99% pro on-campus. That’s what I’ve donated to. But, if they have some sort of grand plan locked in (doubtful) to build a 40,000 seat NorCal SnapDragon or Colorado State stadium, I’m in. Overall, just mostly frustrating that there isn’t progress in ANY direction….
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I think we're all pro campus. The financial roadblocks that came up since the initial announcement were glaring though. 1. Wilton Rancheria buying SRFC and funding their own stadium 100% took away what I believe was going to be a significant donor. 2. Tarrifs. 3. Not getting into FBS.

Bad news is it feels like the lost FBS bid and change of direction here delays everything football related. Although this is out of the blue for us, I doubt Sac State and Cal Expo just started discussions. The timeline of the vote and eventual closure of horse racing at Cal Expo and the timing of when Dr. Wood started becoming tight lipped about his original stadium outline seem to correspond.
 
Sac State just doesn’t have the money. This latest pivot to potentially build the stadium around the existing horse racing grandstand at Cal Expo confirms we have a university president who is flying by the seat of his pants to make something happen, and this reeks of more desperation.

I don’t understand how Cal Expo, which is bleeding money ($2.6M in 2024, and halfway through 2025 $1.9, and just spent $22 M improving roofs and air conditioning systems, and, now will lose horse racing and the Sac Republic revenue next year, is in any strong financial position to contribute towards the building of a “Snapdragon type stadium.”

All reports indicate so far that the horse racing grandstand remains in place. I have watched many horse races and attended Country in the Park concerts there. For those events, a suitable venue, but for football, the seating is too low and too far back to watch.

The astroturf campaign for the Pac 12, and the roll of the dice on the FBS waiver with no apparent backup plan is teetering on its last legs. If not true, great, but perception is reality until proven otherwise.

All along, Dr. Wood has said FBS or Bust.

We are losing ground, except for the potential promise of a great 2025 football season; we are headed to an independent FCS schedule and an interruption of the Causeway Classic.

Good thing we will be in the Big West for when it does go officially Bust, and football goes the way of the dodo bird.

What we need now is a Miracle on J Street, which is right now feeling like a horror show.
 
the Rat said:
All along, Dr. Wood has said FBS or Bust.

Good thing we will be in the Big West for when it does go officially Bust, and football goes the way of the dodo bird.
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FBS or bust wasn’t said with a positive connotation. It means if we don’t go FBS, we can’t afford staying in FCS. ‘Bust’ was the adjective, or in this case the adverb.

Big West move was posturing for when football goes bust. Dropped.

How can moving to Cal Expo be a plus? Our on campus stadium is condemned, Cal Expo offers absolutely nothing. Both owned by the state, so having the ‘state’ collaborate on this move is ridiculous.

What a shit show.
 
I'm not getting worked up about the Cal Expo news like some folks seem to be. I'll preface this post by stating that I'm in the "build a nice venue with good sight lines that can foster a good fan atmosphere for casual fans" camp. An on-campus venue would be preferred but if a better deal/development can be had within a reasonable drive of campus then I have no issue with that. People keep stating they want a Snapdragon-esqe stadium not realizing that Snapdragon isn't on SDSU's main campus. A venue that can boost the profile of Hornet football does not mean it has to be on campus, it's just a preference.

If working with Cal Expo means there are monies for a stadium there then so be it. People need to keep in mind that since the stadium was announced back in October '24 that steel tariffs were increased to 50% in June '25. This is a budget buster for any major project that will use a significant amount of steel such as a football stadium.

There are a few angles on the Cal Expo negotiations that come to mind. First off, is Cal Expo permanently done with horse racing? If not then I don't see how the grandstand area is viable. The width of a horse track between the grandstand and any field playing surface would be much greater than the track between the stands and the field at Hornet Stadium currently is. Complete non-starter imo.

If Cal Expo is done with horse racing, then I suppose the grandstand could be a viable location with a serious facelift. Note that the existing grandstand length is longer than a football field so the outer sections of the grandstand would not have favorable sight lines. Personally I think this would be visually hideous for a football venue but maybe it could be modified to work. I don't really know but it seems like more trouble than it's worth.

Then there is Heart Health Park where the Sac Republic currently plays. The Republic will leave Cal Expo at some point so that is a viable alternative in concept. Currently HHP seats 11.5k and I don't believe any of its infrastructure is permanent. I'm not sure where the players' locker rooms are but I think they are makeshift trailers adjacent to the stadium. HHP also has no permanent press booth. Cal Expo would have to invest a significant amount of money to make HHP a viable option for D1 football.

My speculation is that Cal Expo, specifically HHP, is only viable as a temporary home while new Hornet Stadium is built on campus. I have a hard time seeing how anything other than serving as a temporary home is the play with this news.

A side note, nationally the big push is to have a new stadium serve as a hub for a mixed use of commercial, entertainment, residential (condominiums) zone. If Cal Expo is done with horse racing, I could see how a new stadium with a surrounding mixed use zone could work, assuming there were investors that the State was willing to work with to make such a development happen.
 
Can't Hornet stadium be renovated to a "safe" condition, and keep the same seating capacity? Why does it have to be an extravagant venture. At this point, it looks like the big ideas need to be scaled back.

I say its time to get creative with what is financially possible using what they have. Upgrade the erector set to a current standard (probably lowering the seating profile), add some endzone seating (that can be removed for track) to make up for the lost seating capacity. Just install a press box that is acceptable for use for the next ~10-15 years.

I'm nearly certain Davis built their press box with the idea it would be removed within 20 years in an expansion (the bowl to be enlarged with seating to be added right over the top).

Maybe semi-temporarily take care of Hornet Stadium first to ensure this move to FBS, and let the Cal Expo / regional event hub situation work itself out?
 
Considering the comments about the stadium being beyond its useful life I don't think there is anything salvageable at Hornet Stadium. The lone exception may be the press box that was recently built on its own independent superstructure. Even then I don't think it would be wise to design and rebuild a stadium around an unimpressive press box.
 
SDHornet said:
Considering the comments about the stadium being beyond its useful life I don't think there is anything salvageable at Hornet Stadium. The lone exception may be the press box that was recently built on its own independent superstructure. Even then I don't think it would be wise to design and rebuild a stadium around an unimpressive press box.
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I'm saying salvage nothing (except maybe the press box if it can remain untouched) and install new & acceptable erector set seating in a different configuration. Lower the profile on the visitor side and add some removable endzone seating to keep current capacity.

Just as a cheaper, more doable option in what seems like a time crunch. That way something is done to help the FBS move. This Cal Expo thing could take 10 years.
 
Cal Expo could work if they are desperate, the horse track and lower seating section would have to be gone, Field would be where the track is, new stands where current racing scoreboard lays.

This would be a better starting point than Georgia State and the old Olympic stadium, but it would always look unbalanced.

Of horse racing is really gone , and sac republic fleeing, then could be good use of ground. Not ideal, but acceptable.
 
I don't understand the benefit of moving to Cal Expo.
Is Cal Expo willing to pony up majority of $$$ to build the stadium?
What happened to CSU bonds?

Both locations (campus with current footprint or Cal Expo) has adequate land, parking, freeway access.

I think Cal Expo should cede the footprint to Sac State if it is built there. Maybe use some of the other land not used for stadium to support faculty housing and village, athletic dorms, private research sector associated with school, etc.

I think moving off campus loses the student involvement and pivots it to the general region interest. Unless the Cal Expo option is completely razed and a new football only stadium built, it will always be janky trying to incorporate existing horse track grandstands. Plus there is no fieldhouse, weight room or support infrastructure.

What will happen to Hornet stadium? It is dead, determined to have no useful life. It has a large footprint and I am sure they dont want to remove the track (secretely think this is what is driving the Cal Expo adventure. The unwillingness to spend $$ to remove the track to rebuild it somewhere else.)
 
Green Cookie Monster said:
I don't understand the benefit of moving to Cal Expo.
Is Cal Expo willing to pony up majority of $$$ to build the stadium?
What happened to CSU bonds?

Both locations (campus with current footprint or Cal Expo) has adequate land, parking, freeway access.

I think Cal Expo should cede the footprint to Sac State if it is built there. Maybe use some of the other land not used for stadium to support faculty housing and village, athletic dorms, private research sector associated with school, etc.

I think moving off campus loses the student involvement and pivots it to the general region interest. Unless the Cal Expo option is completely razed and a new football only stadium built, it will always be janky trying to incorporate existing horse track grandstands. Plus there is no fieldhouse, weight room or support infrastructure.

What will happen to Hornet stadium? It is dead, determined to have no useful life. It has a large footprint and I am sure they dont want to remove the track (secretely think this is what is driving the Cal Expo adventure. The unwillingness to spend $$ to remove the track to rebuild it somewhere else.)
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I think what's driving Cal Expo could be private donor/developer interests to be off campus, and out from under the CSU's thumb on events, economic opportunities around the stadium, etc. Maybe that becomes easier off campus? Maybe Indian Casinos willing to donate/feel safe being associated with off campus facility?
 
For what it's worth, I've submitted some pretty probing and frustrating (to the Admin) Public Records Act requests regarding stadium plans, and communications. My last one was submitted in July, and they gave me a date of September 25th before they can respond. Very weird...
 
First off, given some promises made, it’s easy to see why a lot of fans of Sac State and of western college football (a group that has taken many hits the last several years) might be upset with the Woods… this exposes all of Sac State’s shortcomings right now.

Having said that, look to Boise for a moment. Don’t stare too long, their natives are restless. Athletic Club Boise has a 30-year lease with Ada County at the site of the former Les Bois Park racetrack, they’re not going to renovate the nearly 5,000-seat grandstand there, and will probably add bleachers on the other side of the pitch being built in place of that section of the racetrack for the new soccer team that kicks off next year. So there’s a comparison… and to answer some questions, this demonstrates the mounting failures of horse racing. Do not count on that racing being viable going forward.

I’m not going to speak to whether the stands at Les Bois are better suited for soccer than Cal Expo stands are for Sac State. I doubt it (I was in Les Bois once and my co-worker was a rail watcher, so limited experience). But the magic words I saw in the Bee article were “concert venue.” Cal Expo may be misguided and broke, Sac State may be out of other options… shrug.

BTW, no track around Hillsboro Stadium. No, it’s weirder than that.
 
The meeting agenda for 8/28 leads me to believe this is more than just kicking the tires on Cal Expo. A special public meeting with just one agenda item (voting on an Approval-Agreement), tells me this is happening. Wonder if this will be streamed, or if you have to be there in person at 2PM next Thursday...

The way I interpret this announcement, this agenda, and the joint statement... We better all get on board with the idea of a Cal Expo stadium. If it gets us a shiny new stadium, 2 mi north of campus... DO IT. And stop farting around...

 
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