Republic FC announces Wilton Rancheria as majority owner, new details about Sacramento Railyards stadium plans
SACRAMENTO — Financing details for the Sacramento Republic FC's long-planned Railyards stadium were released on Thursday.
A new majority owner for the team has also been revealed in the Wilton Rancheria tribal nation. It's the first time a Native American tribal nation will hold a majority ownership of a men's professional sports team, Republic FC officials stated.
According to a fact sheet released by the City of Sacramento, the plan includes a $342 million investment in rehabilitating the area — with an estimated $217 million coming from private investment.
Current Republic FC Chairman and CEO Kevin Nagle will still be an owner of the club, but the team said he'll also now be the managing partner.
The new complex will be located on a 31-acre site east of 7th Street in the Railyards, with the stadium site itself being 14 acres, according to the fact sheet. Indomitable, the Republic FC's new limited liability company formed for the project, will be handling the stadium's design and all other operational aspects, according to the City of Sacramento.
City leaders also noted that the stadium project is expected to create an estimated 910 jobs, with the entertainment venue adding another 390 jobs and the infrastructure work needed creating some 360 more jobs.
No date of expected construction was detailed in the fact sheet. However, the city says the expandable 12,000-seat stadium is currently scheduled for completion in 2026 and the entertainment center in 2027. The plan is set to be voted on by the Sacramento city council on Nov. 12.
During his eight years in office, Mayor Darrell Steinberg has remained confident Sacramento would eventually be home to an MLS team. However, the new stadium plan only mentions the United Soccer League, the current league Republic FC competes in. Steinberg is in the final weeks of his current term and opted not to run for re-election to a third term.
When San Diego officially brings an expansion team to MLS in 2025, the league will have 30 teams. It is not clear if the league is currently pursuing expanding further.
Sacramento's long, continued journey to the Railyards and MLS
The idea to bring an MLS expansion team to Sacramento began in 2011 when former California Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez began exploring areas around the city where a professional soccer stadium could be built.
In 2012, Sacramento announced it would join the United Soccer League (USL) Championship — a level of soccer below the MLS — as an expansion team. Sacramento Republic FC made its USL debut in 2014, winning the league championship in its inaugural season.
That first season, Republic FC began play at Sacramento City College's Hughes Stadium before moving mid-season to the newly built 11,000-seat Heart Health Park at Cal Expo, where they have played ever since.
The Sacramento City Council first approved a proposal for a 20,000-seat stadium project in 2016. The next year, Republic FC CEO Kevin Nagle made the club's first bid to join the MLS but the effort failed when a group of investors backed out.
At the start of 2019, the club announced that billionaire Ron Burkle had purchased a controlling stake in the club and would lead the effort to bring a new stadium to the Railyards, which was a huge stepping stone in strengthening interest from the MLS in bringing an expansion team to Sacramento.
Then, on October 21, 2019, MLS Commissioner Don Garber joined city, state and Republic FC officials in California's capital city to announce that Sacramento was officially selected to be awarded an expansion team.
A $252-million, 21,000-seat stadium was expected to break ground at the Railyards in the fall of 2020. In addition to the stadium, the plan was to build out the surrounding area with other commercial and residential developments, effectively doubling the size of the downtown area.
Republic FC's MLS debut was slated for the 2022 season but then delayed to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, in 2021, Burkle announced that he was backing out of the investment, citing the pandemic as the reason. Sacramento Republic FC's MLS promotion collapsed as a result, putting the railyard stadium plans on hold.
The following year, Republic FC CEO Kevin Nagle then announced new plans and renderings for a smaller stadium at the Railyards that was not contingent on an MLS expansion. That stadium was expected to be built with the idea that it could expand to a 20,000-seat venue in the future if the city gets another shot at the MLS. Despite those new plans, the city and club didn't have an investor in place.
Until now, there had not been any official plans or moves announced related to a new stadium at the Railyards.