Sacramento To Host NCAA Soccer Championships In 2024, 2025

Source: Sacramento Business Journal, Ben van der Meer
Photo: The planned Major League Soccer stadium in Sacramento’s Railyards will host NCAA Division I soccer tournaments in 2024 and 2025, Sacramento Republic FC announced Wednesday. (HNTB)

A number of top-level college sporting events will roll through Sacramento in upcoming years.

Golden 1 Center will host NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament games in 2023 and Women’s Basketball Tournament games in 2026, while the NCAA’s men’s and women’s soccer championships will be at the unbuilt stadium in the Railyards in 2024 and 2025.

For Golden 1 Center and the Sacramento Kings, the announcement Wednesday is a makeup of sorts from earlier this year, when the Downtown arena was supposed to host first-round tournament games for the tournament. Days before tipoff, however, the Covid-19 pandemic led NCAA to cancel the entire tournament.

“It is a tremendous honor to have Golden 1 Center selected once again to welcome student-athletes, coaches and staff for championship sports in 2023 and 2026,” said Vivek Ranadivé, the Sacramento Kings’ owner and chairman. “Sacramento, a city built on basketball, is home to the best fans in the NBA and will provide the perfect backdrop for collegiate competition at our world-class facility in the heart of Northern California.”

The arena will host first and second-round games for the men’s tournament, and regional games for the women’s tournament three years later. In 2017, Golden 1 Center hosted first- and second-round games for the men’s tournament, drawing thousands of fans to the region and leading to huge traffic for restaurants, bars and hotels, especially around the arena.

Though vertical construction hasn’t started yet, there’s already one big event scheduled for the new soccer stadium planned in Sacramento’s Railyards development.

Sacramento Republic FC announced Wednesday morning the stadium will host the NCAA men’s soccer championship in 2024, and the NCAA women’s championship the following year.

“This has always been about building a better Sacramento through the beautiful game,” said Sacramento Republic FC President and Chief Operating Officer Ben Gumpert in the announcement. “We’re excited to welcome the NCAA, student-athletes and their families, and soccer fans from around the country to our indomitable city.”

Combined, the two tournaments will host hundreds of players, coaches and support staff, as well as attract fans of the participating colleges and soccer fans overall. Known as the Men’s College Cup and the Women’s College Cup, both tournaments have semifinal and final games at a neutral site, meaning four teams for each tournament in Sacramento.

For Sacramento, tournament dates will be Dec. 13 and 15 in 2024, and Dec. 5 and 7 in 2025. A sign-up list for information and tickets is available online.

The first event at the new stadium on Seventh Street in the Railyards is set for 2023, when Sac Republic FC is set to play its inaugural season in MLS. That was originally supposed to be 2022, with stadium groundbreaking in late spring or summer of this year.

Citing the Covid-19 pandemic, team officials in July said groundbreaking would now be in the fall. In Wednesday’s announcement, it’s now described as being within the next few months

Team officials have said the 20,000-seat stadium would not solely host Republic matches, mentioning other soccer games as well as other sports, concerts and festivals among the possibilities.

Mike Testa, CEO of Visit Sacramento, said the city will welcome the influx of visitors for the two college championships.

“When competitions come to town, they bring along sometimes hundreds of athletes, coaches, staff, their families and fans,” he said in the announcement. “These visitors stay overnight in our hotels, eat in our local restaurants, shop in local stores, frequent our attractions, and much more.”

Both the basketball and soccer announcements Wednesday were part of 450 host site selections the NCAA made Wednesday, after receiving 3,000 host bids.

Visit Sacramento announced the preliminary round of the NCAA 2023 and 2026 Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field championships and NCAA Division II 2024 Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships will also be in Sacramento.

https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2020/10/14/sacramento-to-host-ncaa-soccer-championships