Sacramento will soon field NWSL team
Sacramento will soon have a professional women’s soccer team in the top league in the world.
On Tuesday, National Women’s Soccer League commissioner Lisa Baird announced to reporters during her state-of-the-league address Sacramento will field a team in 2022.
In August, The Athletic reported the deal was finalized but sources told The Sacramento Bee negotiations were in late stages.
A final hurdle for Sacramento to gain an NWSL franchise is the league expansion fee. In July, a star-studded Los Angeles ownership group led by high-profile women helped land Angel City FC, Los Angeles’ NWSL expansion franchise. The founding core of celebrities, athletes and businesswomen include Natalie Portman, Kara Nortman, Julie Uhrman, Alexis Ohanian, Serena Williams, Eva Longoria, Jennifer Garner and more. Angel City will join the league with Sacramento in 2022, Baird announced Tuesday.
Also in July, Major League Soccer announced Sac Republic FC and two other expansion franchises would have their entry into the MLS pushed back a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Sacramento and St. Louis will join MLS in 2023 and Charlotte will join the league in 2022.
The delay for Sacramento’s MLS team also stems from uncertainty about how to design a stadium for the post-COVID-19 era. Construction for Republic’s $300 million downtown Sacramento stadium was expected to start this fall but faced delays.
As a result, it’s unclear where Sacramento’s new NWSL team will play in 2022. Papa Murphy’s Park, located at the Cal Expo, holds about 11,500 fans. The new Railyards stadium in downtown Sacramento will host about 21,000.
The Athletic reported last week multiple sources doubted Sacramento would be ready to play in 2022.
Film producer Matt Alvarez is the Sacramento owner leading the charge on NWSL expansion. According to The Athletic, the California Storm wants to be involved with the NWSL expansion process, including partnering directly with any expansion group. The Storm is a Sacramento team that plays in the second tier of women’s professional soccer.