Citrus Heights Approves Lease for Youth Hockey Arena
The city council voted to lease former Sylvan Middle School property along Auburn Boulevard to Capital Thunder Youth Hockey for a planned indoor ice facility.
Updated on Nov. 14, 2026 in Hockey
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The Citrus Heights City Council approved a lease of city-owned property to Capital Thunder Youth Hockey, which plans to build an indoor ice arena on the site. The vacant parcel along Auburn Boulevard was once home to Sylvan Middle School.
Why it matters
The approval gives the club a path to a dedicated home rail for its growing program in Citrus Heights and the wider Sacramento region. It also returns a vacant former school site to active community use.
The club fields eight teams with roughly 130 co-ed players between ages 6 and 18. The proposed facility would include a full-size, NHL-regulation ice sheet, bleachers, and a penalty box, though the total construction cost and remaining funding gap were not disclosed.
The players
Capital Thunder Youth Hockey
A co-ed youth hockey club based in the Sacramento region that has played in the area for decades and serves players ages 6 to 18.
Citrus Heights City Council
The elected governing body of the City of Citrus Heights that approved the lease of city-owned property for the planned ice arena.
The details
The proposed arena would be housed in a temporary building on the leased Auburn Boulevard site. The club is raising money to help fund construction, and it hopes to break ground in the spring and have ice ready for tryouts in June.
Timeline
Spring 2027: Planned groundbreaking for the new ice arena.
June 2027: Target date for ice to be ready for tryouts.
Season Trajectory
The lease positions Capital Thunder to expand its program capacity in the Sacramento region beyond its current eight teams. It also signals that local governments are willing to repurpose vacant school sites for recreational sports infrastructure.
Families with children ages 6 to 18 interested in youth hockey may gain a closer local option for ice time and tryouts once the arena opens. Current players are not affected until the facility is built.
The takeaway
Local youth sports programs can grow by finding underused public property, and families interested in hockey should watch for tryout details as construction progresses.
What happens next
The club hopes to break ground in spring 2027 and have the ice ready for tryouts in June 2027, contingent on completing its fundraising for construction.
Further reading
Explore more local coverage in Hockey news from around the Sacramento region.
Source note: This article includes information reported by CBS News.
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