A Canadian company is considering investing in a new effort for the Sacramento Republic FC to join Major League Soccer.
The Stronach Group, the soccer team and city leadership confirmed last week they are in talks for a potential expansion bid.
Mayor Darrell Steinberg said he has been involved in conversations with the group for the last year. Belinda Stronach leads the Ontario-based group, which owns major American horse racetracks, including Santa Anita Park in Southern California. The group also runs Golden Gate Fields in the San Francisco Bay Area and plans to close the track at the end of the 2023 racing meet.
“Belinda Stronach would be a great owner for Major League Soccer and Sacramento deserves Major League Soccer,” Steinberg said Thursday. “We have never given up. We have just gone quiet because it has required us over this last year to find the right investor.”
The city’s last effort to bring an MLS team to Sacramento fell apart after then-lead investor Ron Burkle dropped out in February 2021, citing issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Burkle had come on board around January 2019 and nine months later, the MLS announced the Republic FC would make its debut in the league in 2022.
But the team remains in the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer under the MLS. Last year the Republic FC made it to the finals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, defeating several MLS teams. The underdog run renewed buzz of another bid to join the MLS.
Kevin Gilmore, the Stronach Group’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, confirmed the company is discussing investing in the team.
“We were made aware of this opportunity some time ago and have been exploring this and have had good discussions with the various stakeholders, including city officials, Sacramento Republic FC, and the league,” Gilmore said in a statement. “This is the type of investment that is of interest to us as we look to add to our existing sports and entertainment portfolio.”
Spokespeople for the MLS did not immediately respond to phone and email inquiries on Monday. In a statement, Republic FC Chairman and CEO Kevin Nagle told CapRadio he is encouraged by the conversations with the Stronach Group. He added the process is ongoing.
“Not for one second have I stopped our diligence, research, as well as partnering with Mayor Steinberg and the city to ensure Sacramento gets all it deserves,” Nagle said in a statement. “I have said from the beginning Sacramento is a major league city. We have checked every box and continue to demonstrate that we are more than ready to go to the next level.”
For updates on the proposed stadium in the Downtown railyards, Republic FC Vice President of Communications John Jacobs referred CapRadio to Nagle’s comments to KCRA. Nagle said the team will still build it even if the Stronach Group doesn’t move forward.
Plans to build a larger stadium have been repeatedly delayed since the team announced a $252 million project in 2019.
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