The bag rule catches people out

Last round Sac State held its spring ceremonies at Golden 1 Center, the Kings’ arena in downtown Sacramento, and Golden 1 Center is bagless. The only bags allowed through were clutches and wallets smaller than 8 by 6 by 1 inches, and medical or parenting bags, which went through an X-ray. Everyone was also wanded by security. A camera bag or an ordinary handbag would not get through.

Two other rules from the arena’s list surprise people: balloons are not allowed inside, and flowers are sold inside by private vendors, so there is no need to carry a bouquet through security. Umbrellas are allowed if it rains.

Sac State has not yet said where this round’s ceremonies will be. If they return to Golden 1 Center, these rules will apply again; if not, the new venue will have its own.

Seven tickets, one ceremony

Each graduate can claim seven free guest tickets for their own college’s ceremony. The graduate does not need one, and neither does a child under three who sits on a lap. Tickets cannot be sold, and a ticket for one college’s ceremony will not open the door to another’s. If a guest loses their ticket, the graduate can resend it from the ticketing system.

Last round the arena took digital or paper tickets but recommended paper for a quicker entry. For a phone ticket, turn the screen brightness up and zoom in on the code.

Spring and winter are separate

Sac State holds two commencements a year. The spring ceremonies, for spring and summer graduates, run over the three days shown in the table above, a ceremony per college. Fall graduates walk at a separate Winter Commencement, and cannot join the spring ceremonies instead. The winter date for this academic year has not been posted yet.

Getting there

Last round the university pointed guests to Golden 1 Center’s own directions and parking information, with prepaid parking nearby available through the city’s SacPark website, and to Sacramento Regional Transit for buses and light rail. Guests used the arena’s Grand Entrance; the Premium Entrance on L Street was available for anyone who needed an accessible entry. Graduates and guests enter separately, so agree where to meet afterwards. Every ceremony was livestreamed with captions.

Where to sleep

For a downtown ceremony, the hotels around the arena are the obvious base. The Kimpton Sawyer is next to Golden 1 Center, with 250 rooms; the Hyatt Centric is across the street; and the Exchange and the Citizen are a few minutes’ walk. Old Sacramento’s riverfront is a short stroll west, and Midtown’s restaurants are four minutes’ drive east.

The campus itself is about twelve minutes’ drive from the arena, with a Hampton Inn and a Home2 Suites on 65th Street; they make sense for a family that also wants to see the campus, or if the ceremonies move there. The airport is about fifteen minutes from downtown, and Davis twenty.

We grade the pressure as low. The ceremonies spread over three days, each family attends one, and downtown Sacramento has plenty of rooms within a few blocks of the arena. That is a judgement from the supply and the schedule, not a measured count of free rooms, which we have not taken for Sacramento.