Can Sacramento Sustain An MLS Team?
By Brian Stern
Can Sacramento be a viable location for the next MLS franchise? Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
Sacramento’s FC Republic face uphill battle to obtain MLS team.
20,231 people. When it comes to Major League Soccer attendance figures, this is a pretty significant number, especially for a team not even part of the league. This is the case of the Sacramento Republic FC who are vying for the final MLS franchise up for grabs in the expansion era.However, while the league itself is in the middle of an expansion boom see Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, and New York, the question still stands: can Sacramento be a viable market for the league. California boasts a population of 38 million residents, but the state capital can only claim a little of above 475,000 of them. There are already several teams in the Golden State including the San Jose Earthquakes, LA Galaxy, Chivas USA
Sacramento has sold 5,000 season tickets for its inaugural USL Pro season. The team is hopeful of garnering a team while the league is looking to expand by only a reported one more team by 2020.
SuperClasico in Los Angeles, 2013:Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Sacramento stands at the 20th largest market in the US, one spot behind Orlando , who will debut in MLS in 2015, but ahead of Kansas City, Real Salt Lake, and Columbus. All three of which have won an MLS cup since the inception of the league. When it comes down to it, the future will be drawn out of the sustainability of the television market. If this is the case, it does not bode well for Sacremento. While the future success will likely be determined off of the potential TV markets, the natural geographic rivalry which could exist between nearby San Jose Earthquakes and Sacramento Republic are juicy. They illicit scenes of the fierce rivalries 750 miles to the north between the Seattle Sounders, Vancouver Whitecaps, and Portland Timbers as they compete for the Cascadia Cup. Further south, the LA Galaxy and Chivas USA compete in the SuperClasico.
Sacramento is set to open an 8,000 seat stadium later in 2014. This is much lower than the expect 20,000 + seat expectation of an expansion team’s stadium capacity.Earlier in the year, MLS Commisioner Don Garber did mention Sacramento as a potential expansion location.
Sacramento Republic FC still has a long way to go in becoming a viable site for an MLS franchise.Theyl face a steep up-hill battle in order to obtain one of the final expansion teams up for grabs in MLS. Ultimately, the seeds are being sown now to set the final MLS team into bloom.
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