After sitting empty for seven years, the Sleep Train Arena is about to be rebuilt into a medical school and teaching hospital.
Medical School and Teaching Hospital Coming to Sleep Train
In a June announcement, representatives of the Sacramento Kings, City of Sacramento, and California Northstate University announced that 35 developable acres of land would be donated to the university to become a teaching hospital and medical school.
The project is expected to create 3,000 jobs and ”could generate $4.04 billion in regional economic output in the next 10 years," says Sacramento Mayor Pro Tem Angelique Ashby.
California Northstate University (CNU) has operated a small, private, for-profit medical school in Elk Grove near Elk Grove Boulevard and Interstate 5 since 2015. An original proposal to bring a medical school and teaching hospital to open in Elk Grove was waylaid by residents concerned about traffic. Now this project has found a new location at the former home of the Sacramento Kings: Sleep Train Arena.
University President and CEO Dr. Alvin Cheung called the proposal a "hub for teaching and healing" and a significant step for his company. "The University looks forward to working with the Kings organization and advancing our mission of science and the art of healthcare," he said.
The project's first phase will include the medical center and teaching hospital. A planned nursing program, dental program, and pharmaceutical program will follow.
The level 2 trauma center would be 10 to 11 stories tall, include a helipad, and 250 rooms to start. Ultimately, the med center will expand to 400 rooms. The initial phase of the project could be built in about three and one-half years, university officials said.
The California Northstate 35-acre site will be on the southwest portion of the Kings' 184 acres, just off of East Commerce Way and near Interstate 5.
"We have been working diligently with the Natomas community to find the right partner to redevelop the arena site and believe California Northstate University is the perfect fit," Sacramento Kings owner and Chairman Vivek Ranadivé announced in a news release. "With a medical school campus and teaching hospital, this project will serve as a hub of innovation and an economic driver for the entire region."
The Sleep Train Arena is expected to be demolished in the coming months and the hospital and campus are expected to break ground in 2022.
The city of Sacramento now has several medical center projects in the works, including the Kaiser Permanente hospital and medical complex in The Railyards district and UC Davis Health medical projects.