Papa Murphy's Park


Papa Murphy's Park is a sports venue located on the grounds of Cal Expo in Sacramento, California. The soccer-specific stadium has a capacity of 11,569 and includes a full-sized soccer field. Papa Murphy's Park is the current home of Sacramento Republic FC soccer team and former home of PRO Rugby team, Sacramento Express.
The field is located on the former site of the Cal Expo Amphitheatre, and is bordered on the west and south by the Cal Expo monorail, and on the east by Raging Waters water park.

History

Construction of the stadium began in March 2014, following approval by the Cal Expo Board of Directors. Funding for the stadium came from an agreement between Ovations Food Services, Cal Expo, and the Republic FC. Original schedules put the grand opening for the Republic FC's June 7 match against Arizona United, but that date was postponed two weeks, with the grand opening falling instead on June 20, when the Republic FC played the reserve team of the Colorado Rapids in a match that ended in a victory for the Republic.
The name of the stadium was originally Cal Expo Multi-Use Sports Field Facility, but on April 21, 2014, Republic FC President Warren Smith announced a multi-year deal with Bonney Plumbing, Heating, Air and Rooter Service for the naming rights of the stadium and the name was changed to Bonney Field.
On March 9, 2017, Republic FC announced that the facility would be renamed Papa Murphy's Park, in a multi-year naming rights agreement with Papa Murphy's.

Structure

Papa Murphy's Park is open-ended, with the south endline lacking a grandstand but hosting the VIP section. The north endline is home to the Tower Bridge Battalion, the SRFC supporters group. The team benches and premium seating are located along the west sideline.

Soccer

Papa Murphy's Park is the home stadium for the Sacramento Republic FC soccer team of the USL. The Republic hosted its first match at Papa Murphy's Park on June 20, 2014. In addition to USL Pro matches, Papa Murphy's Park also hosted Republic friendly matches against visiting foreign teams, such as Mexican Premier Division team Club Atlas, Scottish Premiership team Rangers F.C., and Premier League team West Bromwich Albion F.C..

Rugby

Papa Murphy's Park was the home of the Sacramento Express that played in the PRO Rugby competition.
Papa Murphy's Park has hosted several international rugby matches:
DateTeam #1ResultTeam #2CompetitionAttendance
June 21, 201438–35Pacific Nations Cup7,804
July 24, 201530–30Pacific Nations Cup5,500
July 24, 201523–18Pacific Nations Cup11,000
June 25, 201625–0friendlyN/A
February 8, 201829–10Americas Rugby Championship2,500

Expansion

After a successful inaugural season for the Republic FC, which consisted of 16 sell-outs in 17 matches and a USL Pro championship at Papa Murphy's Park, Smith indicated plans to expand the stadium by 2,000 to 3,000 seats for the 2015 USL Pro season. The expansion project, which forced a reschedule of the 2015 home opener, added approximately 1,300 sideline seats, 2,500 endline seats, and an expanded market area.