Sacramento Republic FC: Hoop-jumping wins entry into MLS

Exactly one year ago, Sacramento Republic FC and supporters recommitted to one more shot at an MLS expansion bid. Their efforts paid off with MLS expansion.

The fight to move the Columbus Crew to a hungry new city had been settled. The Crew would stay. Austin got an expansion team. And Sacramento Republic FC would be left wanting. But they did not stop there. They continued to fight for MLS expansion. And now, Sacramento Republic FC begins Major League Soccer play in 2022.

Under the current schedule and pending any time-consuming change orders, their new MLS stadium in the historic Railyards District will be ready for them to take the pitch. This privately funded $300 million stadium will seat 20,100 per the latest plans. The area will include housing, retail, theaters, parks, a museum, a hotel, and a medical center.

Sacramento Republic FC started competing in USL in 2014. From the moment the capacity crowd of 20,000 saw that first game kick-off, the Republic FC front office vied to bring top-tier soccer to the 20th media market in the U.S.

They won admission to MLS late in October following St. Louis joining the league. The team had to clear a marathon-course worth of hurdles to get in. MLS Board of Governors required Sacramento to continually hone their stadium plans, community support, ownership involvement, and player development infrastructure.

It involved a lot of work and it meant patiently returning to the drawing board after touching base with MLS on their progress. But it’s been worth it. Sacramento Republic FC is in MLS.

The team had to keep City of Sacramento officials hopping throughout. This included the MLS requirement that Sacramento Republic FC negotiate a Term Sheet with the City of Sacramento.

The term sheet included:

More from MLS Multiplex

• Javier Milei Elected in Argentina: Potential Impacts on MLS and Signings of Argentine Players
• Orlando City and New York City FC in the Battle for Matías Arezo; Grêmio Enters Negotiations! Who Will Come Out on Top?
• USA, Honduras, Panama, and Canada Close in on a Spot in the 2024 Copa America
• De Gea Turns Down Al-Nassr’s Lucrative Offer: Speculation Points to Possible Reunion with Messi at Inter Miami
• Messi’s Magnetic Impact in the United States

• Infrastructure financing to help owners complete streets, traffic signals and utilities
• City support for traffic control, fire protection, and other services over 10 years during soccer events
• Republic FC investors will seek to build a training facility within the City of Sacramento
• Team management pledges to a local-hiring initiative for the stadium. They also agree to a 35-year non-relocation clause.
• Lastly, the city will work on planning approval for five-six digital billboards for the team.

Republic FC had already engaged Sacramento in world-class soccer events, including the FIFA World Cup in 2026. The team got on the list of potential FIFA World Cup base camps for one of the 48 teams in the tournament.

The base camps host a team, plus all their traveling supporters, during days before and after their matches. It’s a boon for tourism and an added dimension of rich World Cup experience for all the citizenry. It is a major coup for a previously non-MLS city, a sure-fire sign of the growing reputation Sacramento holds in the U.S. soccer world.

But now, Sacramento Republic FC will first take to the pitch in a Major League Soccer match before a standing-room-only crowd of supporters in their new stadium in 2022. Sacramento’s Railyards District history will start a new chapter. It has been a long time coming.