Railyards deal falls through. Sacramento Republic FC pushes ahead with stadium
The city confirmed Monday that a group of residents and labor advocates successfully halted the expansion of a special taxing district intended to spur development in the Railyards. But Sacramento Republic FC said the team remained committed to building a new stadium in the area.
Developers, in recent years, have put forward plans to build a soccer stadium, retail, housing and entertainment venues in the area, which has sat largely empty since railroad operators pulled out in the 1990s. City Council in June approved a deal to expand a special taxing district from a single area that includes the proposed stadium to a much larger, 244-acre chunk of land. The deal is structured so that the expected increases in property taxes would help repay developers’ costs for infrastructure, like roads, sidewalks and water and sewer connections.
Todd Dunivant, president and general manager of Sacramento Republic FC, said in an interview Monday that the team still intends to move forward with its planned stadium there, with a goal of opening it for the 2027 season.
“We’re going to keep moving forward,” Dunivant said. “We’ll be talking, soon, about groundbreaking.”
While the stadium area, he said, is still included in the earlier version of the special taxing district, the newer iteration would have repaid the team more quickly for its infrastructure costs.
Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum said in a statement that he was “deeply disappointed” by the results. Putting the expansion on hold for a year, he said, will add delays and costs to projects in the district.
Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty said the city is working on other means of supporting development in the Railyards without touching the general fund, though he said he wasn’t yet ready to elaborate on what those options may be. And in a year, he said, the city will revisit the issue of expanding the special taxing district.
“We’ll sort out the infrastructure stuff as we go along,” McCarty said in an interview. “This does not stop the project. The show goes on. We will break ground very soon on the stadium.”
Downtown Railyard Ventures, which owns much of the real estate in the district, said it plans to move forward with its “Central Shops” project, which would convert historic warehouses into restaurants, bars, retail and entertainment. President and CEO Denton Kelley said in an email that the firm intended to begin infrastructure work later this year.
The committee overseeing the special taxing district will hold a meeting on July 22 to formally accept the results of the protest.
The local hospitality workers’ union, Unite Here Local 49, had organized residents of the two apartment complexes that have opened in the Railyards over the past year — The A.J. and The Wong Center. Last month, during a meeting of the committee overseeing the Railyards taxing district, the residents filed 135 written protests against the expansion, taking advantage of a relatively new piece of state tax incentive law that established a formal process for residents to push back. The union and the residents had argued that the city should renegotiate the agreement to require that developers build more affordable housing.
The law says that if 25% of residents living within the boundaries lodge protests, the residents and landowners must vote in a special election on the issue. If more than 50% file protests, the issue is put on hold for a year.
During the meeting, an attorney for the city said that based on a preliminary tally, more than 25% of Railyards residents had lodged protests, but it was unclear if the numbers had surpassed 50%. Monday’s announcement solidifies that the protests, indeed, amounted to a majority.
Earlier Monday afternoon, the local hospitality workers’ union said it had filed a lawsuit against the city of Sacramento, accusing officials of mishandling the union’s protest. It argued that the city was legally required to tally them during the meeting last month. City officials have said that it took time to confirm the protesters’ eligibility as residents of the district, where the first housing has only opened over the past year.
The complaint also argued that the infrastructure deal would directly aid developers, offer meager benefits to residents, and reduce the number of taxpayer dollars set aside for affordable housing. It cited the city’s affordable housing plan, which says Sacramento should require that 20% of revenues be set aside for affordable housing in any new special taxing district of this type.
The union celebrated its win, Monday, but did not say whether it would drop the lawsuit in light of the city’s announcement.
“We hope the developers and city will now listen to demands for more affordable housing, a grocery store, displacement protections, and more and bring back a deal that is good for the people of Sacramento, not just a playground for the rich,” Gina Longo, secretary-treasurer for Unite Here Local 49, said in a statement. “We will stand alongside Railyards residents until we reach that goal.”
This story was originally published July 14, 2025 at 3:03 PM.
