New 10,000-seat arena is coming to California — but first, officials want to solve the traffic nightmare

Rancho Cordova is ready for the big leagues — but they just have to make sure fans can find a parking spot first.

The California city is moving forward with plans for a massive new 10,000-seat arena that could become a sports and entertainment destination for the Sacramento region. 

But before fans can pack the stands, the city is putting extra money toward solving one major problem: how everyone will get in and out.

The Rancho Cordova City Council unanimously approved an additional $40,000 for a traffic analysis of the future downtown arena project, bringing the total contract with engineering firm DKS Associates Inc. from $88,000 to $128,000.

The extra funding comes as officials evaluate the “high level of complexity of the project review,” according to a request from DKS Associates included in city staff reports.

The planned venue — located at the corner of Kilgore Road and Trade Center Drive — is expected to seat 10,000 people, with 7,500 fixed seats, and serve as the future home of two Sacramento-area Major Arena Soccer League teams.

Rancho Cordova’s ambitious entertainment hub could bring soccer, restaurants, hotels and more — but city leaders are spending extra cash to figure out how thousands of fans will get there. Perkins & Will

But the arena’s ambitions go far beyond soccer.

Think less arena, more entertainment takeover. The project could eventually grow into a one-stop destination with hotels, housing, restaurants, shops, a card room, a movie theater and a bowling alley — basically everything except a kitchen sink.

Rancho Cordova, it seems, isn’t just building an arena — it’s trying to build a whole new hangout.

Joshua Wood, a local developer and member of the project’s ownership group, said the arena is continuing to move forward, with the next major step being approval from the city’s Planning Commission.

Wood recently told The Sacramento Bee that “lots of progress” was being made and said updates on a groundbreaking date would come soon. He previously said the privately funded project was expected to break ground this summer.

The deal comes with a few perks, including potential future revenue sharing, waived development and building permit fees, and a slice of a 13-acre city-owned parcel valued at an estimated $6.8 million.

The city has already chipped in nearly $940,000 in waived fees, covering everything from design and infrastructure reviews to zoning checks, grading permits and the legal fine print behind the development agreement.

Wood has previously said the arena would generate new tax revenue for the city, with a portion potentially returning to the project.

The City Council approved an extra $40,000 for a complex traffic study around the planned arena, boosting the DKS Associates contract to $128,000 as officials prepare for the future home of two Sacramento-area Major Arena Soccer League teams. Perkins & Will

Rancho Cordova Mayor Garrett Gatewood has touted the arena as a game changer for the city, calling it one of the community’s most important projects.

Gatewood called the arena the city’s “first chance to have actual full entertainment” and declared to the outlet, “We’re now on the map. We’re not a city that you’ve never heard of before.”

Now, city officials are working to make sure that map doesn’t come with a giant traffic jam.

But Rancho Cordova’s big arena dreams come as the Sacramento suburb is already having a growth spurt.

As previously reported by The Post, the city was recently named one of America’s newest boomtowns, with growth in both housing and its workforce helping push it onto SmartAsset’s list of the fastest-growing cities in the country.

Four California cities made the ranking, with three located in Northern California — but Rancho Cordova wasn’t the only Golden State newcomer making noise.

Menifee, in Riverside County, landed highest among California cities on the list after seeing a 29% jump in housing units between 2019 and 2024, according to the study. 

Rancho Cordova followed at No. 70, posting a 21% increase in housing units and a 17% rise in its labor force over the same period.

Santa Clara and Sunnyvale also cracked the list, fueled by their deep ties to California’s tech economy.

SmartAsset analyzed more than 400 cities with at least 65,000 residents, narrowing the list to the 75 fastest-growing communities. 

The company noted that “boomtown status does not mean growth benefits everyone equally,” but said the rankings reflect “a city’s expanding economic capacity and the new opportunities that come with it.”

For Rancho Cordova, the arena could be the latest sign that the once-overlooked city is stepping into the spotlight — as long as fans can actually get there.

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