A planned stadium would be built to MLS’s standards.
Is Sacramento back in the hunt for a Major League Soccer franchise? Wilton Rancheria, the owner of the United Soccer League’s Sacramento Republic FC, has decided to change course and will now build a 20,000-seat venue instead of the planned 12,000-seat stadium that was approved. Wilton Rancheria is the first tribe in the United States to own a soccer franchise. The ownership wants to build a stadium-village on a 31-acre parcel by a Sacramento railyard. The bigger stadium means that the Republic FC ownership wants more than just a second-tier United Soccer League franchise. But is Major League Soccer interested?
Once upon a time, Major League Soccer awarded an expansion franchise to a previous Sacramento Republic FC ownership group and a proposed stadium was part of the agreement. But Sacramento became a major problem when Ron Burkle, who would have provided a significant chunk of the expansion fee to the MSL and stadium construction, decided he didn’t want to be part of the Sacramento franchise. The MLS, which awarded Sacramento a franchise on October 21st, 2019, withdrew the franchise offer on February 26th, 2021. Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty thinks that an “MLS opportunity is on the horizon.” MLS Commissioner Don Garber has said nothing about the market. Meanwhile, the Sacramento Republic FC owners could end up with a franchise in the United Soccer League’s planned Tier One 2028 set up. The United Soccer League plans to go “major league”. The USL has been around since 2011 and has been considered a minor league or Division II grouping by the United States Soccer Federation. The USL has 25 franchises, most of them are in smaller markets which would not necessarily be considered major league markets. The league has some franchises in big-league markets including Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Miami, New York, Oakland, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Antonio and the Tampa Bay area.
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