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Rancho Cordova leaders approved the design of a proposed 7,500-seat arena development Monday evening and the sale of city-owned land for the project, achieving another significant milestone for plans that have stirred local debate about traffic and public funding.
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Proponents say the project could be transformative for Rancho Cordova. The area has been defined in part by Folsom Boulevard — which cuts through the northern, most densely populated part of the city — and officials argue the community lacks a central gathering place. Residents have long demanded more entertainment options, and some city leaders believe the project could deliver the makings of a downtown.
The arena would be built at Kilgore Road and Trade Center Drive.
During a special council meeting on Monday, nine residents criticized the city’s proposed agreements with the developers, some arguing the city should rethink its financial participation. One councilmember also raised concerns and said the economic effects of the project for the city are “going to be a wash.”
Still, the council voted 4-1 to advance the land sale and the design review, with councilmember Joe Little casting the sole “no” votes. Little believes the project is being contemplated at the wrong location and would cause traffic to bottleneck “in an area where we already have a lot of issues.”
In all, 32 people spoke in favor of the agreements.
Though the council also discussed the project’s financial and development agreements, it will not vote on those items until a separate meeting on Nov. 2.
The city is contemplating $185 million in financial participation, including a 35-year tax revenue-sharing agreement and about $25 million to $40 million in fee waivers. Rancho Cordova would forgo some fees and cover others by transferring money from its general fund to other city accounts.
Before the meeting, the developers held a rally in the City Hall parking lot, attended by local youth sports teams and labor groups. Speakers extolled the project’s potential effects as renderings of the development and soccer-related video footage played on a big screen behind the stage.
‘We’ve failed at one thing’
The project is being driven by KozPure Development, a firm co-founded by Joshua Wood and Charanjeet Kaur Tiwana-Purewal. The arena would be their firm’s first significant development.
Wood previously worked with former Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson’s administration on the campaign to keep the Kings in the city and is the twin brother of Sacramento State President Luke Wood.
Wood has estimated construction costs for the project’s first phase, including a soccer arena and plaza, at $175 million to $225 million. A larger buildout with housing, hotels, retail, dining, a card room and a movie theater could cost $1 billion to $2 billion.
The city’s proposed financial agreements would waive building permit fees of up to $3.7 million for the arena, hotels and parking areas. The city would also pay development impact fees of up to $13.5 million, transferring money from its general fund to specific impact fee funds. Rancho Cordova could also contribute up to $15 million, over time, toward the public safety costs for the venue.
The agreement calls for sharing sales, hotel and card room taxes generated by the development, once it is completed.
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Councilmember Siri Pulipati called residents’ concerns about the project “legitimate.”
“I understand, this project is big. The numbers are big,” Pulipati said. “So many of you feel this has moved faster than most of your questions did.”
Still, she continued, Rancho Cordova has to grow.
“Opportunities of this scale do not come without risk. But doing nothing, that has a cost too,” Pulipati said.
Little opposed the land transfer and design review. He believes the share of arena customers arriving in private vehicles would exceed the developers’ estimate of 80%. He also called the city’s proposed financial deals “cavalier” with public dollars.
“We’ve got bigger fish to fry than entertainment,” Little said.
Councilmember David Sander said the tax revenues that would be shared with the developers wouldn’t exist without the project itself.
Since Rancho Cordova’s incorporation, he continued, “we’ve failed at one thing… entertainment.”
“Rancho Cordova desperately needs local entertainment,” Sander said. “We probably all think it would make our quality of life better. But it’s more than that. It makes people talk about the community from afar… I think it will make Rancho Cordova a lot more attractive.”
Previous proposal ‘faded away’
The city has owned the land for the project — at 2875 Kilgore Road — for about 20 years. It was previously part of an entertainment center project that never materialized.
In 2013, a group wanted to build a 72,000-square-foot entertainment center there with movie theaters, bowling and laser tag. The city approved an agreement to provide $1 million in cash, $4.6 million in city-owned land and $775,000 in fee deferrals for the effort, the Bee previously reported. But over time, Vice Mayor Linda Budge said, that project “just faded away.”
The current “Downtown DOVA” project has been the only other substantial proposal for the site since the city took ownership, Budge said. Sander said other proposals for the land have been for uses the city did not want, like storage.
As contemplated, the city would initially sell one acre to the developers for the first phase of the project when the plans receive final approval. It would sell the remaining 11.5 acres to the developers when the second phase receives final engineering approvals.
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This story was originally published October 27, 2026 at 5:00 AM.