Following Championship In Its First Year, Sacramento Republic Not Slowing Down In Offseason
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — After a championship start, there's no time to rest for Sacramento's newest sports team as changes are on the horizon at its field, at the box office, and within Major League Soccer.
The Sacramento Republic won the USL Pro championship in the team's inaugural season on Saturday with a 2-0 win over the Harrisburg City Islanders.
"For USL Pro we've broken every record," said team spokeswoman Erika Bjork. "Everything from best record from an expansion club to obviously winning the championship to attendance."
On the Monday after the championship, the team office isn't sitting idle. The focus is already on the future.
"We'll be also launching our community programs, our camps and clinics, we'll be doing things during the holidays and then there's this little thing going on about Major League Soccer," she said.
The MLS board of governors is weighing Sacramento against a couple of other cities with strong bids for expansion teams.
Putting its best foot forward, Sacramento has plans to build a permanent stadium at the downtown rail yards, one of the largest urban infill projects in the nation.
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The team's home at Bonney Field for most of the season will be expanded from 8,000 to 10,000 seats in the offseason—still half of the capacity of Hughes Field, which the team sold out while waiting for its official home.
Sales reps are busy renewing season ticket sales and getting deposits from new buyers. So far, they have more than 6,000 commitments of their goal of 10,000 to fill the stadium.
"Our goal of getting 10,000 either current season ticket holders or deposits, I think sends a strong statement to them saying that the minute you pull that trigger we've already got a built in fan base and we're ready to go," Bjork said.
The team says 80 percent of the seats at Bonney Field will stay the same price or lower, but it's adding a new $2 facility fee.
"It was part of our contract with Cal Expo and Ovations," she said. "Last year we were able to waive it with the delays in opening Bonney Field. Unfortunately this year, it's not the same situation."
MLS is expected to make its decision on the expansion by the end of the year.
