Golden 1 Center opened on September 30, 2016, in the heart of downtown Sacramento, California, replacing the aging ARCO Arena as the home of the Sacramento Kings. Built on the site of the former Downtown Plaza shopping center, the $558.2 million arena anchors the larger Downtown Commons mixed-use development and was designed by AECOM with Mark Dziewulski Architect, with Turner Construction managing the build after an October 2014 groundbreaking.
The arena quickly earned a reputation as one of the NBA’s most innovative venues, achieving LEED Platinum certification and drawing attention for its blend of technology, sustainability, and open-air design. It has hosted Kings basketball alongside concerts, conventions, wrestling, MMA, and college sports, and has repeatedly been ranked among the best arenas in professional sports.
Stats at a Glance
- Team: Sacramento Kings (NBA)
- Location: Downtown Sacramento, California
- Opened: September 30, 2016
- Capacity (basketball): 17,608
- Capacity (concerts): Up to 19,000
- Cost: $558.2 million
- Architect: AECOM / Mark Dziewulski Architect
- Notable feature: Six-story, 150-foot-wide retractable hangar doors
The Arena Experience
Golden 1 Center was built as an indoor-outdoor venue, with massive glass hangar doors on its exterior that can open to let Sacramento’s Delta breeze flow through the concourse, weather permitting. The arena also features an 84-foot videoboard, one of the largest scoreboard displays in the NBA at the time it debuted, along with 34 luxury suites and 48 loft-style suites overlooking the court.
Concessions leaned into the region’s identity, with the arena’s food program sourcing roughly 90% of its ingredients from within 150 miles of Sacramento as part of a farm-to-fork concept tying the venue to the city’s agricultural heritage.
A Sustainable Downtown Anchor
Beyond basketball, Golden 1 Center was engineered as a sustainability showcase, powered in part by a rooftop solar array generating up to 1.2 megawatts and supported by an additional 11-megawatt solar field operated nearby by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. That combination helped it become the first LEED Platinum-certified professional sports arena when it opened in 2016.
Positioned on the former Downtown Plaza site, the arena served as the centerpiece of a broader push to revitalize downtown Sacramento, drawing concerts, conventions, and other major events to the area alongside Kings games.
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Golden 1 Center FAQs
When did Golden 1 Center open?
Golden 1 Center opened on September 30, 2016, replacing ARCO Arena as the home of the Sacramento Kings.
What is the seating capacity of Golden 1 Center?
The arena holds about 17,608 fans for Sacramento Kings basketball games and can expand to roughly 19,000 for concerts.
What makes Golden 1 Center unique among NBA arenas?
It’s known for its six-story, 150-foot-wide retractable hangar doors that open the arena to the outdoors, plus LEED Platinum sustainability certification and a farm-to-fork food program.
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Photo: Quintin Soloviev / CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.