Sacramento Republic FC began groundwork Thursday on their $250M soccer stadium in the Sacramento Railyards to "show the city's commitment to being home" to an MLS team, according to Mark Anderson of the SACRAMENTO BUSINESS JOURNAL. The stadium will be home to a soccer team, but it will "also be a 20,000-seat venue downtown for concerts, events and exhibition games." Sacramento Sports Commission Dir Mike Sophia said that the venue could also put Sacramento on the map to "potentially host college and regional championship games for soccer, rugby and other sporting events." Republic FC currently plays in the USL and plays games at Papa Murphy’s Park at Cal Expo, which has "seating for more than 11,000." Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg during the groundbreaking said that by starting work now, the city is "showing it is prepared and can get things done." Sac Soccer Chair & CEO Kevin Nagle said that starting work now will "also put Sacramento in a position to have an MLS team on the field of a new stadium" in March '20 (
BIZJOURNALS.com, 7/27). In Sacramento, Ryan Lillis in a front-page piece notes Republic FC's goal is for crews to "begin vertical construction in the spring." Steinberg, on predicting the city would land an expansion spot, said, "I hope this serves as a statement of high confidence of where we stand with Major League Soccer." Nagle said he has "never been so optimistic" for the city's chances. Thursday's ceremony happened as MLS officials "prepare to gather in Chicago for the annual All-Star game and owner meetings next week." Republic FC will "send a contingent to the annual meeting to campaign for their expansion bid." MLS is "expected to announce two expansion awards by December." Sacramento has "long been considered one of the front-runners" to land a squad (
SACRAMENTO BEE, 7/28).
