The Sunrise Sports Center will introduce a state-of-the-art, 160,000-square-foot sports facility on an 11-acre site. At its core is a 4,000-seat multi-use arena designed to host sporting events, concerts, and other major events. Photo courtesy of Tallen Capital Partners LLC and The Mettle Shop

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) – The City of Citrus Heights announced March 6 a landmark partnership with The Mettle Shop and Tallen Capital Partners LLC to bring a new Sunrise Sports Center to Sunrise Mall, launching the first major development under the Sunrise Tomorrow Specific Plan.

San Diego-based Tallen Capital Partners LLC will acquire the northern portion of Sunrise Mall owned by Great Neck, New-York based Namdar Realty Group, and then sell 11 acres to Mettle Shop for construction of the Sunrise Sports Center's development, according to a press release by the city of Citrus Heights.

In an interview with the Sacramento Business Journal, Terry Tallen, founder and CEO of Tallen Capital Partners LLC, said he's seeing Mettle Shop’s Sunrise Sports Center as an anchor tenant for the mall.

In this collaboration, Tallen Capital Partners will assume the role of majority owner and developer for the project.

The Sunrise Sports Center will introduce a state-of-the-art, 160,000-square-foot sports facility on an 11-acre site. At its core is a 4,000-seat multi-use arena designed to host sporting events, concerts and more.

The center will also feature two NHL-sized ice sheets and multi-use turf fields, establishing a premier destination for athletes, families and visitors, and offering a wide range of recreational and entertainment opportunities.

“We believe that sports have the power to strengthen and enrich communities, and we are genuinely excited to collaborate with Citrus Heights and Tallen Capital Partners to bring these opportunities to life through the Sunrise Sports Center,” said Joe Wagoner, CEO of The Mettle Shop, in reported remarks.

Mettle Shop, which includes former executives from franchises such as the Sacramento Kings, Sac Republic FC and the Oakland A's, had planned to build a similar sports complex in Folsom on 18 acres on the northwest corner of Folsom Ranch, on Prairie City Road.

The Sunrise Sports Center is the first major project under the city’s Sunrise Tomorrow Specific Plan, adopted unanimously in 2021 after years of community input and strategic planning to reimagine the 100-acre Sunrise Mall site for new purposes.

The estimated cost of redeveloping Sunrise Mall will depend on how much land Tallen Capital ends up owning, but the likely cost could be estimated at $400 million, according to Tallen.

“The Sunrise Sports Center is a bold new vision for our city. This planned partnership demonstrates our steadfast commitment to creating a vibrant regional destination that energizes our local economy,” Citrus Heights Mayor MariJane Lopez-Taff said.

The Sunrise Mall property spans nearly 100 acres in Citrus Heights and is currently divided into seven separate parcels owned by five different entities, including the Namdar Realty Group, Ethan Conrad Properties, JCPenney, Red Robin and Antioch Street LP.

Last June, Namdar Realty Group began quietly marketing its part of the mall for sale. In August, a third-party pre-condemnation appraisal of Sunrise Mall was requested by the city of Citrus Heights was initiated on Aug. 28, but is not yet complete, according to city communications officer Marisa Brown.

As of Jan. 7, Namdar Realty Group has accrued just over $3.56 million in outstanding fines that span from July 2024 through the present, the city said.

With a projected timeline of 12 to 15 months for construction, the Sunrise Sports Center could begin hosting events as soon as early 2028.

On the southeast portion of his piece, Tallen said he's envisioning somewhere between 250 and 350 apartments. To the north, along Sunrise Boulevard, will be restaurants and entertainment uses to complement Sunrise Sports Center.

A separately owned 2.8-acre parcel at the prominent corner of Sunrise Boulevard and Greenback Lane, owned by Antioch Street LP, has already been subdivided to allow for a future hotel.

“Tournaments, regional sporting events, concerts and other large gatherings typically require overnight accommodations for participants, families, teams and visitors. As a result, integrating a hotel into the Sunrise Mall redevelopment aligns with the expected activity generated by these uses and helps capture the economic benefits associated with visitor spending while supporting the long-term viability of the site as a regional destination,” said city communications officer Marisa Brown.

Hotel development is allowed on areas of the Sunrise Tomorrow property, with up to three being envisioned at buildout, she said.

Tallen Capital Partners is also in negotiations to acquire the 18 acres on the northeast side of the mall owned by retailer JCPenney, the only remaining anchor store still open in Sunrise Mall. A message sent Friday to JCPenney's media relations department for comment was not immediately returned.

City Manager Ashley Feeney shared, “The City Council’s commitment to the Sunrise Tomorrow vision has been instrumental in bringing the Sunrise Sports Center to life, setting the stage for a transformative new chapter for the Sunrise Mall site as a premier regional destination for sports, shopping, entertainment, dining, working and living.”

Site planning within the Sunrise Tomorrow Specific Plan is conceptual, and any required modifications will be reviewed to maintain alignment with the overall Specific Plan vision, according to the city.

For more information and to receive project updates, visit www.sunrisetomorrow.net https://www.sunrisesportscenter.com/.