New fan amenities added to Sacramento soccer stadium design, driving cost above $300 million
The price tag for downtown Sacramento’s soon-to-be-built Major League Soccer stadium has jumped by $50 million and is now expected to top $300 million. Some of the increase is due to rising construction costs, but upgrades to the stadium design – including an upper-level patio-style fan venue with panoramic city views for premium ticket holders – are also contributing to the new price tag.
Republic FC team president Ben Gumpert said the new ownership group wants a world class facility that’s “not just a cool stadium, but something that reflects the story of Sacramento.”
The facility’s initial estimated price, set several years ago, was $252 million. The current $305 million price is also a pre-construction estimate. That cost will be privately financed by the investor group. The city of Sacramento plans, however, to kick in $33 million worth of incentives, including a loan of up to $27.2 million.
The investor group, headed by Los Angeles billionaire Ron Burkle, won the rights last month to operate a Major League Soccer expansion franchise, and with it the obligation to build a 20,000-plus seat stadium in the Railyard redevelopment site downtown.
Stadium redesigns earlier this year included a 360-degree concourse that will allow fans to walk around the entire venue, with an observation deck overlooking the Railyard to the west.
At the top of the stadium, new designs call for an outdoor venue called The Canopy, which will be available to premium ticket buyers and will offer city views from five stories up, as well as views of the pitch.
.jpg "Stadium - External View - Fan Arrival (Source - HNTB).jpg")
Another premium club near the field will serve as the entrance walkway for the soccer players before the match. Players will walk directly through the center of the club, Gumpert said.
A third venue will be built on a bridgeway – similar to the draught house in the Golden 1 Center – and will be open to all ticket holders. It will sit at the north end of the stadium above the Tower Bridge Battalion supporter section.
The team plans to begin full construction on the site next spring. The stadium is expected to be finished by spring 2022, when Sacramento will begin Major League Soccer play under the Republic FC banner.
MLS expansion now expensive
The higher price tag reflects the hefty investment it now takes to enter Major League Soccer. In addition to the stadium, the Burkle-led investor group is responsible for a $200 million expansion fee.
St. Louis, also chosen this year to begin MLS play in 2022, is working on a downtown stadium plan that is expected to cost more than $250 million, according to St. Louis news media reports.
The area outside the Sacramento stadium site – just east of Seventh Street - likely will be turned into surface parking lots initially. But team officials say they hope to develop that land in the near future with downtown-style construction. That will include a light rail station at Seventh Street, a block from the stadium entrance.
Team officials say they expect many fans to arrive via light rail, ride share vehicles and e-bikes, based on the experience when the Republic team held initial soccer matches several years ago at Hughes Stadium at Sacramento City College, near a light rail station. Thousands of fans used the rail line.
Map of proposed stadium site
Map: NATHANIEL LEVINE
Burkle declined to say what his group plans to build on the 17 acres that surround the stadium, but said it will be construction that enhances fan experience and is a revenue generator. In Pittsburgh, where Burkle co-owns the Penguins National Hockey League team, his group built a hotel.
“You want to control your environment,” he said. “I think that helps build the fan experience.”
Burkle said development of that property also will help compensate his investment group for the upfront costs of securing and launching the team, and building the stadium. The Burkle group also expects to build a team training facility and fields somewhere in the city.
“If we can imagine that we can build things there, and build profitable things there, that helps us bring price into context,” Burkle said in an interview last month. “But more importantly than bringing the price into context, it helps us control the (fan) experience and we can program what goes across the street.”
For now, the focus is on getting a stadium built on time, Gumpert said. “That is the primary and secondary focus.”
Burkle said he takes the attitude that he will own the team permanently. A Forbes magazine report this week listing MLS franchise values suggests he could recoup the $200 million entrance fee his group is paying the league, should they decide to sell the team.
The Forbes analysis set team values at $500 million for the Atlanta United soccer team at the high, and $190 million at the low end for the Colorado Rapids. The median price among the 24 ranked teams was $290 million.
This story was originally published November 11, 2019 at 11:23 AM.