Sports group plans huge 21-acre Folsom Ranch winter games complex

The City Planning Department is reviewing a plan for a 21-acre winter games complex proposed for Folsom Ranch. Developers announced the application with the city of Folsom last month. As proposed, the Folsom Ranch Sports Complex would be a massive 410,000 square-foot, multi-use facility on 20.87 acres in the northwest area of Folsom Ranch south of Highway 50. The site is east of Prairie City Road and north of planned Alder Creek Parkway. The complex would feature roughly 265,000 square-foot enclosed facilities with a focus on hockey and other ice events, according to the proposal. The plan includes a 126,000 square-foot covered and illuminated turf field and pavilion. "Although California leads the nation in annual growth of ice-related sports, Sacramento is the largest populated county nationwide without a year-round ice facility. Currently, there are only two full sheets of ice operated in the greater Sacramento area," developers said in the project narrative. There are no full ice sheets operated within a 30-minute drive of Folsom Ranch, developers said. Also, outdoor youth sports leagues lack adequate competition-level facilities for hosting practices, games and tournaments. Demand for new facilities of this type continues to rise, developers said. In addition to hosting ice sports, hockey and skating, the project's fully enclosed indoor venue can accommodate "dry land" sports like basketball and volleyball, staff said. The Mettle Shop, LLC is operated by a group with experience in sports, including managing and operating venues like Golden 1 Center, Sutter Health Park, the Oakland Coliseum and Heart Health Park. The specific plan calls for two-lane Prairie City Road to serve as a major arterial with six lanes. Alder Creek Parkway is intended to provide the major east-west thoroughfare with four lanes, staff said. A traffic signal or preferred roundabout is planned at the intersection. Both roads would have access to the center. Rinks B and C are sized for two more National Hockey League-size ice sheets, and primarily serve as "practice sheets," with reduced seating to about 150-200 guests each. For youth ice hockey, each ice sheet can be divided into three sheets, allowing up to nine simultaneously operating youth games for tournaments or practice. The sheets can also be used for other winter events, including figure skating, speed skating, ice dancing, theatrical ice performance, curling, broomball and recreational skating. As planned, each of the three rinks can be converted to accommodate dry athletic events such as volleyball courts, nine NBA-size basketball courts, 27 youth hoop courts, 27 pickleball courts, 16 NCAA wrestling mats, 12 curling lanes, 12 tennis courts and nine youth indoor soccer fields. The plan also proposes a 126,000 square-foot covered and illuminated turf field and pavilion with seating for 400. This field could feature tournaments and practices for sports such as lacrosse, soccer, flag football, youth baseball and rugby. The field as designed would be covered to provide shade during the daytime and lighted after dark. The covered pavilion could be used for music concerts and the Folsom Rodeo. "For such events, the seating capacity could reach 8,000 spectators," according to the report. The project proposes a minimum of 797 parking spaces and access to the Folsom bike and trail system.