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Sacramento MLS Expansion Bid Back on Track

The Sacramento MLS expansion bid looked to be weakened when it was learned that Kevin Nagel and his partners submitted the application in the name of Sac Soccer & Entertainment Holdings and without any mention of Sacramento Republic FC. While this originally caught everyone, including the club, by surprise, it turns out this wasn’t as unexpected as we thought.

Sacramento MLS Expansion Bid Back on Track

Jeff Carlisle has the full story at ESPNFC, but it seems the two sides had been at odds for months over how the team would transition to MLS.

With each side needing each other to get the expansion bid over the finish line, the two sides have been engaged in merger talks for months. During a conference call last Thursday, MLS deputy commissioner Mark Abbott indicated that commissioner Don Garber had tried to help mediate the dispute. That proved to be unsuccessful.

With no agreement in place, and with MLS setting a deadline of Jan. 31 for the bid to be submitted, Nagle’s group went ahead and submitted the bid, much to the consternation of Republic FC.

This implies that the move to pull Republic from the bid wasn’t the nefarious backstabbing move it appeared to be. Nagel only submitted the bid without them to avoid missing the deadline and eliminating Sacramento from the race, which makes perfect sense. The quarrel wasn’t worth risking the entire bid and he seemed to have an idea that a resolution was forthcoming.

It also explains why the two came to an agreement so quickly after the deadline. An agreement that wouldn’t have been possible without Sacramento mayor Darrell Steinberg, who mediated the discussions that allowed the two sides to end the feud in a timely fashion.


As long as the agreement is formally signed, the possible MLS side will retain the Sacramento Republic FC name and branding once they begin play. Until then, the current president a founder of the club Warrant Smith will remain in charge. More details should emerge once the official documents are drafted and signed.

The club itself confirmed that they would be returning to the MLS expansion fold.

Expansion Bid Returns to Life

As mentioned at the top of this article, the Sacramento expansion bid looked significantly weaker without the support of Republic FC. The long time USL attendance leaders were instrumental in attracting the league’s attention to begin with. It was long assumed that the club was going to make the move the thanks to their popularity alone, but their heavy involvement during Don Garber’s town hall in the city last spring indicated they would be at the front of the bid. Once the club was able to announce their downtown stadium deal, it was more or less assumed they would return to MLS.

This dispute sent the entire bid into doubt. Had Nagel not been able to keep the Republic branding, it was assumed that he would not have a strong tie to the local fanbase that has made the bid so strong to begin with. Many pundits had Sacramento on the outside of expansion once the news of the strained relationship came out.

The two sides needed each other to get the job done. The club needed Nagel and his investors’ money and Nagel needed the club name. This agreement will allow those two to come back together to form a strong Sacramento MLS expansion bid.

Now, with the club and Nagel’s investment group back on the same side, Sacramento returns to the front of the MLS expansion line. They have the minor league following and a very concrete stadium deal working in their favor. After a couple days of uncertainty, it now only looks like a matter of time before Sacramento’s bid is accepted and they are formally welcomed into MLS.

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