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San Francisco 49ers Invest in Sacramento Republic’s MLS Expansion Bid

By Phil Naegely

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The Sacramento took the USL PRO by storm on the field, but also off the field in 2014. They filled their stands for game after game, grew their popularity around the community, and shared they had aspirations for becoming the next MLS expansion side. Their MLS dreams have gotten some support financially from local professional teams’ ownership, the Sacramento Kings and the San Francisco 49ers, respectively. Both of the announcements were made by the city’s Mayor Kevin Johnson this week.

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Thursday’s news by Mayor Johnson announcing the 49ers’ support in the Republic’s MLS Bid came during Sacramento’s State of the City Address, which had a sports theme feel to it. Given financial backing from both Kings and 49er’s higher-ups, Sacramento has the upper-hand on other cities hopeful of bringing a MLS team to town.

“All of us are building Sacramento into a city that will set the example for the way sports and culture interact with American cities in the future,” Johnson said in a prepared statement after Wednesday’s announcement about the Kings buying a stake in the Republic’s ownership.

As the Sacramento Bee reports, the Kings have been in discussion about investing in Republic and Mayor Johnson was key in the discussions.

"“Johnson’s message to the Kings was simple: A unified bid that included the Kings would give Sacramento its best chance of joining MLS. It would also create synergy in marketing, ticket pricing, merchandising and other shared business ventures between the teams.”"

Kings managing general partner, Vivek Ranadive, shared the same enthusiasm and interest and being apart of the Republic’s plan of joining MLS.
“This is another major step in revitalizing downtown and making the entire Sacramento region an even better place to work, live and play,” Ranadive said in a prepared statement. “We’re committed to our vision of making Sacramento the world-class city its citizens deserve.” As Sacramento Bee notes, “Ranadive is known to be a soccer fan and is a personal friend of Sunil Gulati, president of the United States Soccer Federation.”

The 49ers’ financial backing of their MLS expansion bid brings more to the table for Sacramento. It should also get MLS’s league office and Garber’s attention. They have the fans, they have the financial backing, and support from local teams. There’s unity in the Sacramento area not from only the government but also the sports teams. Jed York is excited to work with Sacramento Republic and their MLS bid.

At the same time, the 49ers’ support of Republic’s bid for MLS raises a few eye brows. This is due to their deal with the San Jose Earthquakes to play a game a year at Levi’s Stadium. The Earthquakes move into a new soccer-specific stadium that can seat 18,000. Their first game in Levi’s Stadium is slated for August 2 against the Seattle Sounders. Yet, this may change with the 49ers backing of Sacramento’s bid, or it could show that they don’t mind supporting two local soccer teams that could be potential MLS rivals.

For now, this is another step in the right direction for Sacramento and their aspirations to become the next MLS team. They appear to be in the driver’s seat for the next spot. The league announced their next round of expansion teams will be reveled in June 2015. LAFC and Atlanta FC are the next two MLS teams to enter in 2017 as the 21st and 22nd MLS teams. It’s been known that the league wants 24 teams by 2020, but at this point they may need to throw that number out the window as they have many cities and teams looking to become an MLS team.

Sacramento is more than ready and is built for MLS.

Quotes and some information courtesy of Sacramento Bee.

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