The arena was named for ARCO, at the time in 1988, a Los Angeles–based independent oil and gas company that today is now a brand owned by Findlay, Ohio–based Marathon Petroleum.

The original ARCO Arena, where the Kings played their home games for three seasons (1985–1988) after moving from Kansas City, had a capacity of 10,333 seats.

The arena was never intended to be a long-term facility – being a relic of the 1980s, it lacked a lot of amenities found later in more modern stadiums, like digital signage, spacious locker rooms, and wide concourses.

NCAA cited that the arena was not adequate for college basketball (let alone the NBA), prompting plans to build a new facility.

LeBron James, the NBA's all-time leading scorer, made his career regular season debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers at the arena on October 29, 2003.

[7] In 2006, there was a campaign to build a new $600 million facility in downtown Sacramento, which was to be funded by a quarter cent sales tax increase over 15 years; voters overwhelmingly rejected ballot measures Q and R,[8] leading to the NBA publicly calling for a new arena to be built at another well-known Sacramento facility, Cal Expo, the site of California's state fair.

The last Kings home game at Sleep Train Arena was on April 9, 2016, a 114–112 win against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

[16] In April 2020, state health officials announced that the Sleep Train Arena would be converted into a temporary hospital in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in California.

ARCO Arena hosted several WWE events including the 1993 Royal Rumble, Judgment Day 2001, and The Bash in 2009.

[26] Other notable events include the five-day 1995 Billy Graham Greater Sacramento Crusade, which 177,000 people attended.

The arena hosted a PBR Built Ford Tough Series bull riding event every year from 2005 to 2016.

[29] With the closure of ARCO Arena and the subsequent redevelopment of the site into California Northstate University's Medical Center Campus, the remnants of the cancelled stadium are likely to be demolished.

[30][31][32] In a rather ironic twist, the Oakland Athletics would eventually relocate to Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento (albeit temporarily) in 2024 while awaiting the construction of their new ballpark in Las Vegas in 2028.