Sacramento Republic ready for home opener; Nagle expects clarity on stadium plans in July

While Sacramento Republic FC begins its home slate for its 10th season in the USL on Saturday, fans and Sacramento residents have been wondering where things stand on the stadium front after the team revealed it has been in planning stages for a new venue in the Railyards since last April.

“Look for stadium decisions with the stadium to come right around July,” Republic FC owner Kevin Nagle recently told The Sacramento Bee. “I think a lot of people understand that’s a critical time because, what I really believe is, there’s going to be a lost opportunity unless we go forward with a larger stadium — a stadium that I think is a community asset that will help not only just the Sac Republic, but the city and the region as well.”

What specific decision comes in July remains to be seen, but the team has remained optimistic about a new stadium getting built in the coming years.

Republic FC currently plays its games at Heart Health Park, built to be a temporary venue at Cal Expo in 2014 with a capacity of just under 12,000. The hope with a new, updated stadium would be to host a series of non-soccer related functions, including concerts, football games and other sporting events, in addition to the team’s 17 regular season games, playoff games and U.S. Open Cup matches. The initial plans for the new venue include a 12,000 to 15,000 seat capacity, with modernized premium areas and amenities, and the possibility to expand capacity to 25,000 or more.

The reveal of the stadium plans last year came over a year after Sacramento’s bid for an MLS expansion team fell through when billionaire investor Rob Burkle backed out of the agreement with concerns over rising construction costs and the pandemic’s impact on business. However, the framework for a stadium deal at the Railyards between the team and municipality remains viable, the team says.

MLS commissioner Don Garber has said Sacramento remains a candidate for an expansion team while talks have been ongoing with other cities such as San Diego and Las Vegas, though no expansion teams have been finalized. The MLS is aggressively looking to expand its reach before the 2026 World Cup comes to the United States.

“Sacramento has been on our list for many years,” Garber told the Sports Business Journal in February, “and both the city and the state continue to be focused on how an MLS team could be an anchor to some urban redevelopment in that community. We continue to have discussions with investors to see whether or not there’s a deal that could make sense for all of us.”

The MLS expanded to 29 teams with St. Louis City FC making its debut this year. Garber has said the league won’t rule out expanding beyond 30 teams.

Nagle was asked to characterize the discussions he’s had on the MLS front, indicating the stadium plans will move forward regardless of the league his team plays in.

“These are just really delicate discussions,” he said. “(They’re happening) in real time. At certain points when MLS is doing their diligence, there might be a hot time for one city or one team, and then it might change a little bit later. And those are negotiations that we’re not really privy to. And that same thing is happening with us. We just really need to do the best that we can whether we go into the MLS or whether we advance ourselves in the USL model.”

On the field, Nagle is optimistic about his team in 2023, in its 10th season since its inception. The season began last week with a 1-0 victory on the road against El Paso Locomotive FC. Sacramento newcomer Russell Cicerone scored the game’s only goal, a preview of what’s expected to be a scoring boost he’ll provide the club after signing in February. The team also added Colombian forward Sebastian Herrera to the midfield with Venezuelan national Arnold Lopez, who played in his country’s top league for 11 seasons.

“Our goal is to win a championship. It’s pretty simple,” Nagle said. “What we did in the offseason was we said, ‘Let’s get the best players we can in the system that we operate to win a championship.’ We feel very good going in that we’re going to have an excellent year.”

Republic FC lost in the second round of the USL Western Conference playoffs last year after becoming just the third lower-division team to reach the U.S. Open Cup final. The team lost to Orlando City SC. Sacramento’s first home game of the 2023 season comes Saturday against Charleston Battery at Heart Health Park. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.