Sellout crowd packs Hughes Stadium as Sacramento Republic returns for 10-year anniversary

The fun on Saturday night started a good three hours before the main event.

Before Sacramento Republic FC enthusiasts packed into venerable Hughes Stadium for a USL match against Orange County FC, they invaded Track 7, the nearby watering hole, to meet, greet and hydrate with anything from water to a vast menu of beer.

Properly lubricated, the throng was headed by the spirited Tower Bridge Battalion as it set off on the “March to the Match.” The Battalion entered the open end of the 95-year-old horseshoe-shaped venue and marched down the east track, waving flags, pounding drums and chanting. The Battalion piled into section 16, facing a sparkling new turf and the setting sun.

Billed as the biggest sporting event of the summer, the night did not disappoint. Hughes was booming with activity for the 10th anniversary celebration of the birth and swift rise of Republic FC. It was equal parts carnival, good cheer and intense soccer action with Orange County FC winning 2-0 in front of a sellout crowd of 20,231. The only way any more people could have squeezed in was if they sat on each other’s shoulders.

The score was secondary to the significance of the night. When Republic FC started its operation in 2014, it needed a venue to showcase its product, and history shows that in this city, that venue is Hughes Stadium.

Hughes is like the reliable pet dog — always there, always the sure thing. The region’s most storied and versatile venue has housed it all: Triple-A baseball, boxing, the Pig Bowl, the Holy Bowl, the Causeway Classic and ear-ringing concerts, including the Jackson 5, Pink Floyd and the 1981 Doobie Brothers show that drew a still-standing Hughes record 42,000 fans.

“When you need a venue, you come here,” said Scott Moak, a Republic FC vice president and a Sacramento native.

Moak has story with Hughes. He was a boy in this venue in the early 1980s and later played in the trenches here as a football player at Kennedy High School. His father, Don Moak, played football games as a Burbank High player in the 1960s and later paced the sidelines as a coach.

“A little elbow grease and a lot of planning, and you can do anything,” Moak said.

Elbow grease, planning and a lot of paperwork. That process included needing a waiver from the USL to compete inside the Sacramento City College stadium. The field is 10 feet more narrow than a traditional pitch, not to mention all of the football yard markers and lines.

“We had to talk to the league and U.S. Soccer to be granted waivers, and we started that process almost a year ago,” Republic FC president and general manager Todd Dunivant said. “The width of the field and the football lines are traditionally not allowed, but for an occasion like this, you get a waiver. Matches like this with crowds like this are important. It’s exciting for our fans, for our players, and people think, ‘Hey, are there really going to be 20,000 people here?’ Yes, and it’s going to be an experience to remember.”

‘Where a dream started’

It was an experience endorsed by the fans. This included Dan Tyree, a Republic FC backer to the core since the beginning.

“Hughes is where a dream started to become a reality,” he said. “Nobody had any idea what it could become, the friendships that were made and the memories created.”

Tyree said Hughes never fails.

“As a Sacramento (native), I have a deep appreciation for Hughes Stadium, having seen concerts, Pig Bowls, world-class track meets and, of course, my beloved Republic,” he said. “Sacramento loves its own, and no organization or fans give more to this city than those of the Republic. Coming back to where it all started is something special and something I am glad to share with my family. Vamos Republic!”

Only Hughes could pull this off. It is a venue that is nearly a century old, but it endures because of its history and appeal. Fans on Saturday night generally didn’t mind the traffic and long lines for food or restrooms. It was a celebration and well worth the wait. Republic FC staffers arrived at 7 a.m. to start the set up. It took a village to pull it off.

“It’s 95 years old with a day’s old turf,” Moak said with a laugh.

Moak has a good pulse on the Sacramento sporting region because he’s had a front-row seat for a lot of it over the years. The Sacramento Kings public address voice since 2002, Moak has viewed magical sporting moments at Arco Arena and now in recent years at Golden 1 Center with the Kings and NCAA March Madness visits.

“In 2000, this city had the Olympic Trials (at Sacramento State), the Sacramento Monarchs (of the WNBA) and the River Cats all sell out simultaneously,” Moak said. “If that didn’t show that Sacramento was hungry for big-time sports, I don’t know what would. This city has an appetite for sports. You see it here again tonight.”

Mayor Steinberg: ‘We’re sports crazy’

Republic FC forward Rodrigo Lopez was on the inaugural team that played four first-season matches at Hughes before the move to Cal Expo. He made his return to the pitch on Saturday, his first soccer appearance in four months since suffering a leg injury. Leading up to this match, he said: “We heard that this was a soccer city. It is. I remember walking out and getting chills.”

On a warm Saturday night at Hughes, more chills.

Sacramento mayor Darrel Steinberg stopped by the press box just after the half for a view of a full stadium. He was decked in a replica FC jersey and he was giddy at what he saw.

“Once again, Sacramento fans turned out because we’re sports crazy,” he said. “Our fan base, if it’s not the best in the country, then who is? Sports unites.”

But will this sort of crowd and Republic FC’s season average of nearly 10,000 at 11,569-seat Heart Health Park at Cal Expo keep the attention of Major League Soccer? MLS and investors have had Sacramento on the radar for expansion with the aim of a downtown stadium, but there have been high hopes and crushing disappointments as MLS kicks the tires on a number of options. Steinberg, per his nature, remains an optimist.

“This is what MLS looks like and can be like,” Steinberg said, looking at the crowd. “MLS knows what Sacramento is about. If the stars align, it could happen.”