Development of Sacramento’s Railyards is going full steam ahead

Efforts to revitalize Sacramento’s historic Railyards are picking up steam, with the city holding an open house event Wednesday evening showcasing the changes that are coming to the area across the tracks from the Sacramento Valley Station.

The major developments coming to the area,  situated between Downtown Sacramento and the River District to the North, include a new stadium that would be the new home for Sacramento Republic FC, and a new Kaiser Permanente medical center.

John Jacobs, the head of communications for the soccer team, said that the stadium would seat 20,000 on game days, and as many as 27,000 for events like concerts where seating could be placed on the grass.

Jacobs said that the site they’re building the stadium on hasn’t been touched for more than 50 years.

“We’re starting to have vaults installed for electrical work going in, and by the end of the year, you’ll start to see roads and traffic signals start to form that neighborhood,” Jacobs said. “After that, we’ll see stadium foundations come up and the stadium will really come to life.” 

Jacobs also said that, similar to the Golden 1 Center, there are plans in the works for an entertainment district surrounding the new stadium. 

“It’s a 31-acre site with the stadium at the center of it, but the 17 acres that wrap around it will be a brand new mixed-use development neighborhood,” Jacobs said.

A rendering of the planned Sacramento Republic FC stadium made March 6, 2026.Courtesy of Sacramento Republic FC

Jacobs said that the new stadium will be open by 2028. He has high hopes for soccer in Sacramento, especially following the enthusiasm surrounding the World Cup. The Republic FC hosted block parties for watching matches and witnessed that enthusiasm firsthand.

“We had over 45,000 ticket requests over six days of these events,” Jacobs said. “This brand new stadium allows us to start to entertain more international games. So maybe one day we’ll get to host the US Men’s National team, the US Women’s National Team, the Mexico national teams.”

Jacobs advises people eager to get first seats in the new stadium when it opens to sign up for a deposit and reserve their spot in line.

“Twenty thousand seats seems like a lot, but it’s going to fill up fast, especially with how soccer-hungry this community has become,” he said.

What happened to the Railyards?

For a large part of Sacramento’s history, its commerce centered around the railroad. Ty Smith, the city historian, said that the area served as an economic center for the region, and that many trains were repaired and built in Sacramento at the Transcontinental Railroad’s western terminus.

“The Railyards were like a big city and it was the largest industrial site west of the Mississippi,” Smith said. “Flat steel, lumber would roll in, and then all these different crafts and trades who worked there and fashioned? that material into working locomotives.”

Smith said the railroad was a vital part of people’s lives in Sacramento for a lot of its history. However, there was a huge decline in railroads following World War II.

“The idea that the suburbs then became the embodiment of the American Dream,” Smith said. “To facilitate that, to get people to and from where they work, the [suburbs led to] the rise of the interstate highway system, the rise of freeways locally and slowly, but surely, rail declined.”

What the future holds

The development promises to connect downtown Sacramento with the River District, and aims to help to bring life into Sacramento’s downtown.

One Sacramento resident, Karen Lewis, is excited for Sacramento to feel more connected.

“As somebody who has taken the American River Parkway quite a bit, the ability to ride your bike from Sac State to downtown is an arduous adventure on many fronts,” Lewis said. “To really start doing the planning to be more inclusive with other modes of transit is really important.”

She also said that making Old Sacramento feel connected to downtown was something she was particularly excited about.

“When you go to Old Sacramento, you’re kind of just isolated and there’s so much beauty along the river,” Lewis said. “There can be, there isn’t yet. I can’t wait for it to be developed.”

The Kaiser Permanente medical center is set to open in 2029, and after the stadium opens in 2028 businesses will be open in the district surrounding it.