SACRAMENTO — We got an exclusive first look Wednesday at initial renderings of the proposed new multi-use Sacramento State football stadium amid the university’s push to join the Pac-12.

In late September, the university announced plans for the new state-of-the-art 25,000-seat stadium that would replace the current Hornet Stadium, which seats around 21,000—not enough due to Pac-12 requirements.

This new stadium would go up on the same footprint as Hornet Stadium, which the university said will be torn down at the end of this year.

“Honestly, I haven’t been to a football game in a while, so I would like to see it in a new environment like that. I’m excited,” Sac State sophomore student Kashia Yang said.

The plans for the new stadium are being drawn up by the architecture firm Populous, which designed the San Francisco Giants’ Oracle Park, and the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento.

“It’s more lively,” Sac State senior Annika Mei Bulauan said. “I would invite all my friends to go. We could just have fun.”

These are conceptual renderings. We can expect more detailed renderings with updates to come out as we get closer to the start of construction.

Some students, while excited for the stadium, asked CBS13: “Am I paying for it?”

“I’m curious on where the funding is coming from. Tuition already has been going up,” student Pedro Montes said.  

Sacramento State President Luke Wood said funding for the new stadium will come from student fees, alumni donations, sponsorships, and California State University revenue bonds that the board of trustees will vote on in November.

“The stadium is a commitment to our belief that Sacramento has the spirit and passion to turn this city into a college football town,” Wood said.   

In addition to football, the university said the stadium would also host soccer, rugby, and other collegiate competitions.  

A coalition dubbed SAC 12 was formed by local leaders to help advocate for Sac State to move up in collegiate competition to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level, the highest level of college football. Sac State currently is a member of the Big Sky Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).

“Who knows if the PAC-12 will choose us, but I know this—it’s a mistake if they don’t,” Barry Broome of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council said.

The new football stadium and its funding were part of a five-step plan laid out by Sac 12 that would allow the university to make the jump to the Pac-12.

Also in that plan was a push for a new Hornets basketball stadium. The current one is also too small for the Pac-12.

On Wednesday, the Sacramento Kings announced that it was offering Sacramento State the opportunity to use the Golden 1 Center for its own men’s and women’s basketball home games.

The Pac-12 has two full-time members in the current year with six more set to join after the 2025 season. The conference needs to field at least eight football teams to remain an official FBS conference.

On Tuesday, college basketball powerhouse Gonzaga was the latest school to announce it would be joining the conference. However, the school doesn’t have a football team so the Pac-12 will continue to look for at least one more program to add to the conference.

Sacramento is the 20th-largest media market in the nation and would be the second-largest in the Pac-12.  

The new-look Pac-12 in 2026 will feature Oregon State, Washington State, Gonzaga, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State.