Samantha Kruse cuts the inaugural ribbon at Sam’s Arena during its grand opening celebration in Yuba City on Oct. 29. Sam’s Arena bought and renovated the former Champions Indoor Soccer Arena, keeping indoor soccer available to residents of the Yuba-Sutter community.

YUBA CITY, CA (MPG) - When Champions Indoor Soccer Arena in Yuba City decided to shut down, Samatha Kruse knew it was time to take action.

As a Live Oak native, she knew how much soccer meant to the local community and how far people would have to drive to access facilities like this elsewhere.

“There’s not a lot of places like this around here where you can really just go out and enjoy or have fun as a kind of healthy alternative,” said Kruse. “Soccer’s not really my personal passion but I love business. I had been looking for my first investment and my mom was super sad about the idea of this place closing, she came here all the time, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to keep it alive and bring the community together.”

Kruse now works for a tech-based travel company in Los Angeles and said she felt blessed to be financially stable enough to take on this project as her first business adventure. Bringing Sam’s Arena to life was a 20,000-plus-square-feet commitment that included the complete renovation of an indoor warehouse housing two soccer fields, room for spectators, a catering kitchen, arcade and event space.

“It's been a journey and just this last month it's been very, very hectic but I'm glad we got it all put together and ready to go in time for the public to enjoy today,” Kruse said. “I'd like to thank my grandpa in particular because he helped me very much throughout school and things like that to be able to get into the position I am today and the way that I'm able to do all this.”

Youth test the field during the inaugural ribbon at Sam’s Arena during its grand opening celebration in Yuba City on Oct. 29. Sam’s Arena bought and renovated the former Champions Indoor Soccer Arena, keeping indoor soccer available to residents of the Yuba-Sutter community.

With just over a month in business, Sam’s Arena is already kicking up traction. On Oct. 29, the team celebrated its grand opening and official ribbon cutting with the Yuba-Sutter Chamber of Commerce during which they received recognitions from Yuba City Mayor Shon Harris, Yuba City City Council, Doug LaMalfa and Assemblyman James Gallagher.

“We’re having a wonderful time celebrating the opening of another business here in Yuba City,” said Harris as he presented Kruse with an official proclamation. “Opening a business is not an easy thing as you alluded to already. It takes a lot of work, a lot of unseen work and it shows here today.”

The arena's grand opening was heavily attended with several dozen local youth testing the fields and getting a few extra miles out of their Halloween costumes. At 8 p.m., the Amanecidos 530 and Atlético de Madrid, two of the region's undefeated men's soccer leagues, went head-to-head for a highly-anticipated match. The Amanecidos were down 3-0 but pulled it off 10-8, securing their title as league champion, an honor they've now held for five straight seasons. Spectators report that it was a very good game with plenty of action.

Sam’s Arena is located at 301 Burns Drive, Yuba City. For more information visit linktr.ee/samsarena or call 530-632-7146.