Designs Within Reach

A rendering of the planned stadium for the Sacramento Republic FC in the Railyards. (Image by Manica, courtesy of the team)

SACRAMENTO REPUBLIC FC STADIUM

Estimated Completion:
MARCH 2028

Rendering by Manica, courtesy of Sacramento Republic FC

When the Wilton Rancheria tribal nation bought a majority interest in the Sacramento Republic Football Club in 2024, the team’s new 12,000-seat stadium had already broken ground at downtown’s historic Railyards. But thinking big—Major League Soccer big—in March of this year, Wilton Rancheria and the Republic FC announced that they’d scrapped existing plans in favor of building a grander multiuse stadium that will hold over 20,000 seats.

As such, the new design confidently conforms to all of the stadium expectations of Major League Soccer, from a minimum capacity of 15,000 seats down to detailed specs like the locker dimensions preferred by elite players. While attaining MLS status has been frustratingly elusive—the Republic came heartbreakingly close in 2019 when it was awarded a league franchise, only for the main investor to back out—the team and the tribe are embracing an “if you build it, they will come” attitude, says Scott Moak, a Republic vice president.

As the western terminus of the first transcontinental railroad, the Railyards district has obvious historical value for California and the City of Trees. But with Wilton Rancheria’s ownership, the location has now come full circle in terms of its tribal significance: It was home to the Nisenan community, whose descendants, together with the Miwok people, make up the membership of today’s Wilton Rancheria. The tribe’s No. 1 instruction to the design team, however, was to always think seven generations ahead—a long-standing philosophy in Native American culture—and honor these ancestral lands by looking forward. “The tribe’s vision for what the team can be, what the stadium can be, and what Sacramento can be is just phenomenal. They’ve taken everything that we dreamed of and said, ‘Let’s do it,’ ” says the project’s senior architect David Kelman of the Kansas City-based architecture firm Manica, which has previously designed sports meccas like the Chase Center in San Francisco (the Golden State Warriors’ arena) and Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas (home of the Raiders). For instance, combining innovative architecture with historic symbolism, fans will cheer on the club from under a shade canopy topped by giant trusses designed to look like train trestles.

Yet, unlike Allegiant Stadium—affectionately nicknamed the “Death Star” because it resembles the iconic Star Wars  space station—the design for the Republic FC Stadium is intimate and human-scaled, with a form-follows-function design style. It is intended to harmonize with the joyful din of the Railyards’ urban streetscapes (think Boston’s Fenway Park or Chicago’s Wrigley Field and the way those stadiums blend into their neighborhoods). Case in point: Instead of having one grand entrance, the stadium is going to be approachable from multiple sides. And Kelman fell in love with the River City during his many visits, rewatching Lady Bird  as inspiration, so the venue will include only-in-Sacramento touches. “We’re keeping the corners open so that Delta breeze can blow through,” the architect says. “We want you to know where you are.”

DOVA ARENA

Estimated Completion:
EARLY 2028

Rendering by Perkins & Will, courtesy of KozPure

Some of the Sacramento region’s most graceful suburbs, like Davis and Roseville, sprouted over 100 years ago, but still boast downtowns that have maintained a walkable village vibe to this day. Now their fast-growing younger sibling, Rancho Cordova—which incorporated in 2003—seems poised to follow in their civic footsteps. A pair of local developers are about to retrofit this central bedroom community with its first-ever downtown district dubbed Cordova City Center, starting with a stunning, high-tech arena in the round that will face a public gathering space on the corner of Kilgore Road and Trade Center Drive.

The Dova Arena—at least that’s what it’ll be called until naming rights are sold—is the brainchild of KozPure Development founders Charanjeet “Charlie” Kaur Tiwana-Purewal, a former longtime VP at local homebuilder New Faze Development, and Joshua Wood, former CEO of the Sacramento Region Business Association (and twin brother of Sacramento State President Luke Wood). To design the venue and accompanying outdoor plaza—set to break ground this fall and open by early 2028—they tapped Don Dethlefs, a Denver-based principal at architecture firm Perkins & Will, whose previous projects include the PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania, which sparked the mid-sized city’s revitalization as a sports and entertainment destination. The hope is for “the Dova,” which will seat up to 7,500 for sporting events and 9,500 for concerts, to achieve the same catalytic effect, inviting both Rancho residents and visitors to attend shows and root for the new men’s and women’s Major Arena Soccer League teams that KozPure has already secured franchise rights to. The adjoining plaza will hold space for other event programming, like outdoor performances, festivals and food trucks.

The integrated use of technology is what sets this arena design apart. The curved façade, for instance, is dominated by a roughly 1,000-square-foot LED screen that can be programmed to show teasers of what’s happening inside, or other events beamed in from all over the world, or the work of local and international digital artists. “We want to make sure it’s vibrant both day and night,” Dethlefs says. After the arena opens, the development team plans to build an equally high-tech billion-dollar central district around it, weaving holographic projections and illuminated tree-lined paths with shops, restaurants, residences and hotels—all with very few vehicular streets to maximize walkability. Adds Dethlefs, “It’ll have a Main Street vibe and be a self-contained place you’ll want to visit, work, play or live—a vibrant village community.”

CALIFORNIA INDIAN HERITAGE CENTER

Estimated Completion:
FALL 2026 (PHASE 1)

Rendering © California State Parks, All Rights Reserved

Imagine a gathering place that finally taps into the ancestral knowledge—and design aesthetic—of California’s 100-plus Native tribes. That’s about to happen, with the construction of a 51-acre campus for the new California Indian Heritage Center (CIHC) at the confluence of the Sacramento and American rivers in West Sacramento.

To gather firsthand input from those tribes, Native-owned architectural planning consultants Amaktoolik Studios partnered with fellow Denver-based firm Fentress Studios—known for iconic site-sensitive designs, like its Denver Airport Passenger Terminal, featuring a striking, multi-peaked rooftop echoing the Rocky Mountains behind it—to conduct 35 outreach events across the state, ultimately engaging over 6,000 community members in the process. Many of them emphasized the powerful symbolism of the confluence. “It’s important to understand the significance of this site to our ancestors and how it was used for cultural gatherings and trade,” one participant commented, with another stating that the new site should be a place to “eat, talk, laugh and share stories.”

Conceived to be more than a traditional cultural institution, the center—which will replace the current State Indian Museum located next to Sutter’s Fort—will focus on living culture via ceremonial spaces, park-like grounds, exhibit halls and classrooms. “Our master plan is inspired by basket weaving, with strands for design that create this sense of a woven piece,” says lead architect Martin Eiss of Fentress. “The center won’t be an artifact space. It’ll be an active, participatory, interactive space that can evolve over time.”

As such, the multistage plan for the CIHC—which is proposed to operate in partnership with California State Parks—is open-ended. But the center is anticipated to launch within the next five years and will eventually include over 100,000 square feet of indoor facilities, including a dramatic ceremonial structure near the river called the Embassy, where tribal councils will welcome visitors from around the world.

In the meantime, the initial phase—which comprises the first pieces of the site’s outdoor areas, including a garden of California native plants—is slated to finish this fall. The landscaping will provide a group of angled shade structures over terraced seating arranged around a gathering circle. On a larger scale, the center will be a demonstration project for the principles of Traditional Ecological Knowledge, the long-held principles by which Indigenous cultures steward the land—serving as inspiration for all of California, and the world.

THE FARMSTAND AT SOIL BORN FARMS

Estimated Completion:
SUMMER 2029

Renderings by Ellis Architects

The constellation of produce stand, mercantile and snack bar at Soil Born Farms in Rancho Cordova has long been little more than a trio of charmingly rustic sheds, but that hasn’t stopped it from becoming the agricultural and educational nonprofit’s main gathering place, where students meet instructors under the spreading oak trees out front and friends meet up before heading to a yoga class in the outdoor amphitheater. And its star is about to rise. After the just-completed new Animal Barn, the next evolutionary phase of Soil Born—already one of the largest urban farms in California—will be replacing the modest produce stand and mercantile with a clever new structure as innovative and aspirational as the budding young farmers it will serve.

The Farmstand—which Soil Born hopes to open in the summer of 2029—will be a hub that can function as a permanent farmers’ market and general store, as well as an educational space with a kitchen classroom. (Currently only open to the general public on Saturdays, this expansion will allow Soil Born to potentially expand drop-in access in the future.) The building will have working ag vibes, in keeping with Soil Born’s status as a working demonstration farm, with a design mixing concrete, weathered steel, large glass windows and recycled barnwood elements, says lead architect Jason Ellis of Sacramento-based Ellis Architects, who has been working with Soil Born for well over a decade, designing upgrades throughout the property, the new Animal Barn and the forthcoming Farmstand. He describes the overall vibe as “industrial agrarian.”

READ MORE: The Seeds of Change – Soil Born Farms at 25 Years

In keeping with viewshed restrictions imposed by the neighboring American River Parkway, the Farmstand’s river-facing northern façade will be stealthily cloaked in greenery, so as not to disrupt the verdant scenery. “We’re going for biophilia, with green roofs and low dark colors. The idea is that you’re not going to see this building,” Ellis says, adding that the visual experience should feel “like you’re squinting at a tree.” In addition to a vegetated roof, this camouflage is accomplished with a living wall that, once planted, will continue to grow, magically weaving the building further into the landscape.

The field-facing side, by contrast, will be entirely open, with the covered, outdoor produce stand transitioning into the indoor classroom and mercantile spaces, and playful details like a rainwater-catchment feature that becomes a kid-friendly splash pad on rainy days. You might not consciously notice, but the structure is designed to function as a crossroads—all paths on the property will lead to (and through) the Farmstand’s open-sided design. As for what will be growing on those living walls and roofs, Ellis says, “Everything will be native plants or something you can eat—true to the nature of Soil Born Farms.”