MLS Commissioner Don Garber on Thursday "all but assured fans that Sacramento will receive a league expansion team," according to Ben van der Meer of the SACRAMENTO BUSINESS JOURNAL. The announcement "capped a whirlwind tour of the city, which included a stop at the site for a future stadium and a huddle with local corporate leaders." Garber said, "We hope and expect Sacramento will be an expansion team very soon." Both Garber and USL club Sacramento Republic FC officials said that the team’s "major hurdle now is the one that’s been a problem for Sacramento before: corporate support." Garber said that the local expansion effort "needs private dollars for sponsorship deals, such as stadium naming rights and uniforms." He said that more corporate support "would help assure the league that the team has the financial resources to compete against larger markets." But Garber also said that he "believes the team is on the right track." Van der Meer noted the timing of meeting with MLS brass to flesh out when to join the league "is still in flux." With four teams set to join the league between now and '18, Garber said that any further expansion "isn’t likely" until '20. The timeline for picking that next round of expansion teams, bringing MLS up to 28 total, "is still being determined." Garber said that there is "competition for expansion slots, naming Detroit, St. Louis, San Diego, Austin and San Antonio as putting together bids." But he said that Sacramento "ranks very high on the list" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 4/14).
GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION: While the final decision on expansion will be made by the league’s BOG, Garber said that a "newly formed expansion committee, composed of four existing team owners, will soon begin talking with Republic FC executives to assess stadium plans and other elements of the team’s bid." Garber said that he was "impressed with the progress Republic FC has made" since its '14 debut in the USL. In Sacramento, Kasler & Lillis in a front-page piece note the club "has consistently sold out its home games at Bonney Field, built a strong ownership group and laid the groundwork for a new soccer-specific stadium at the downtown railyard if an expansion team is awarded." Garber: “We love the brand they’ve created. They’ve been able to check the boxes that are required. ... This is a soccer city, and frankly we don’t see that very often. Sacramento is further along than any other market that we’re speaking to" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 4/15).
