Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and execs from USL club Sacramento Republic FC yesterday "officially launched 'Operation Turnkey,' their plan for demonstrating to MLS officials the city’s readiness for an expansion team," according to Dale Kasler of the SACRAMENTO BEE. Most of the milestones "involve getting Sacramento prepared to start construction on an MLS-caliber stadium if and when the league awards Sacramento a franchise." Johnson said, "The moment we get word from MLS, we’ll start digging." The league "has awarded its last two expansion franchises to Miami and Minneapolis, bringing MLS to its immediate goal of 24 teams." But MLS Commissioner Don Garber also said recently that the league "has begun studying whether to expand beyond 24 teams, and league officials have made it clear they consider Sacramento a serious candidate for a spot." Johnson yesterday "repeated his claim that MLS officials have told him Sacramento’s entry into the league is a matter of when, not if." But it is still "not clear when MLS would be ready to anoint Sacramento." Johnson: "They’re still trying to figure out their process. They’re looking deeply to see what the next phase of their expansion looks like." Republic FC Lead Investor Kevin Nagle said that the team's owners "have the financial capacity to build an MLS franchise, an effort that will likely cost" around $100M for the expansion fee and $150M for construction (SACRAMENTO BEE, 4/16). In Sacramento, Ben van der Meer noted Johnson and Republic FC officials' plan is made up of "five goals to meet by year's end to get the city and team ready to break ground" on a stadium. The goals are to "prepare a feasibility study, form a pre-development team, finalize a concept design and cost estimate, have site control and write a preliminary term sheet." Johnson: "We believe we’ll have every item checked by the end of the year. That means by the end of the year, we’ll be ready to have shovels in the ground" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 4/15).
