MLS: Sacramento bid ‘COVID casualty,’ but not dead yet
In his first public comments about Sacramento since the city’s soccer effort imploded, Major League Soccer’s commissioner called Sacramento’s bid “a COVID casualty,” but said the city and league have not yet given up on securing a franchise there.
Delivering his 2021 season opening remarks Monday, Don Garber said the league however has been looking at several other cities as possible landing sites for the league’s 30th team in the weeks since Sacramento’s lead investor, Ron Burkle, backed out of a deal to build a stadium and bring a team here.
Garber mentioned Las Vegas, San Diego and Phoenix as possibilities. All three, like Sacramento, have teams playing in the lower-tier professional league, the United Soccer League.
He did not offer details on the league’s approach or timing to landing a 30th team.
“I’d call this expansion project (in Sacramento)
leading up to this season as a COVID casualty,” Garber said. “(Ron) Burkle faced enormous economic challenges ... costs rising dramatically and other factors.”
“But there’s still a lot of energy in Sacramento, it’s a good soccer market. Mayor Darrell Steinberg is very focused on trying to put another ownership group together. We’re going to work with him to see what can be achieved, if another group can be put together to reach an agreement with the city and others.
“But right now there are other markets we are looking at ... and we’ll see who can be our 30th team.”
Garber’s comments come six weeks after Los Angeles billionaire Burkle informed the league “that based on issues with the project related to COVID-19, he has decided to not move forward with the acquisition of an MLS expansion team in Sacramento,” according to a statement issued Friday evening by the league.
MLS had awarded a bid to Sacramento on Oct. 21, 2019, based on a tentative agreement between Burkle and Garber that involved Burkle paying a $200 million league entrance fee, and committing to finance a $250 million-plus soccer stadium in the downtown railyard.
Stadium construction was put on hold when COVID-19 hit in March of 2020. A redesign of the project during that time pushed the potential price up to near $400 million.
Without an owner/investor group, Sacramento’s bid is essentially dead. However, Sacramento Republic FC team officials and Mayor Steinberg report they have been in talks with a handful of potential new investor groups, and have been assured by the league that Sacramento’s bid will continue to be taken seriously by the league should it land new investors.
Steinberg on Tuesday said he appreciated Garber’s continued support.
“Sacramento still has everything going
for it as the next MLS city,” he said in a statement. “We have an impressive fan base and an approved stadium plan. We just need to replace our lead investor, and we’re actively talking to several groups. I greatly appreciate the continued support from MLS and Commissioner Don Garber. Everybody knows Sacramento is a great sports town.”
Speaking to The Bee last week, Republic president Todd Dunivant said the team, led by Kevin Nagle, continues to work aggressively to land an investment deal.