Soccer

Republic FC announces block party Monday to celebrate MLS announcement

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MLS & Sacramento

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Republic FC soccer officials will throw a block party on Capitol Mall on Monday afternoon for fans to celebrate the expected announcement earlier that day that Sacramento has won a Major League Soccer expansion franchise.

The party will launch at 4 p.m. at Fifth Street and Capitol Mall, and will feature entertainment, games, team merchandise sales, and will include team owners and as-yet undisclosed guests.

The free event will “cap off an extraordinary day in Sacramento history,” the team said in a news release. Officials expect thousands to attend.

The team announced this morning that it will hold a news conference earlier Monday for a major announcement about “the future of soccer in Sacramento.” Sources with direct knowledge told The Sacramento Bee on Tuesday that the MLS is expected to formally announce an expansion franchise at that news conference.

Sacramento would become the 29th team in the fast-growing league, and would begin play in 2022 in a new stadium to be built in the downtown railyard.

Mayor Darrell Steinberg and key investors Ron Burkle, Matt Alvarez and Kevin Nagle will join additional “special” guests at the news conference. In the case of recent franchise additions, MLS Commissioner Don Garber has typically announced the expansion with local officials during a public ceremony in the new city.

The announcement will mark the successful conclusion of a laborious five-year effort by Sacramento community leaders and various investors to secure a franchise in MLS, the premier professional soccer league in the United States and Canada.

This story was originally published October 16, 2019 at 3:13 PM with the headline "Republic FC announces block party Monday to celebrate MLS announcement."

Tony Bizjak
The Sacramento Bee
Tony Bizjak is a former reporter for The Bee, and retired in 2021. In his 30-year career at The Bee, he covered transportation, housing and development and City Hall.
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MLS & Sacramento

Click the arrow below for more coverage of Major League Soccer’s announcement of an expansion team in Sacramento.