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49ers Owner York Joins Sacramento Republic's Investment Group

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The Sacramento Republic FC has added another professional sports team owner to its resume in its bid to join Major League Soccer.

During Thursday night's State of the City speech, San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York was introduced as a new investor in the USL Pro team. The announcement comes one day after Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive announced he was joining the team's ownership group.

York said he had been looking to invest in soccer teams in Europe and in the MLS before Sacramento.

Mayor Kevin Johnson also advocated for Sacramento to increase its minimum wage, as well as pledging to increase the number of officers on the street and add body cameras.

Sacramento is one of four potential groups vying to be the 24th team in MLS. There are two rival bids from Minneapolis and one from Las Vegas as the league looks to expand by 2020.

One of the Minneapolis bids has the backing of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings ownership. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports one plan would have the Vikings' new $1 billion stadium converted from a 65,400-seat football stadium to a 20,000-seat soccer stadium with large panels and advertising boards covering the other 40,000-plus seats.

The league hopes to expand to 24 teams by 2020. Chivas USA in Southern California recently was shut down by the league, with new ownership taking over and a new Los Angeles team to start playing in 2017. Teams in Orlando and New York City will join next year, bringing the total to 20.

By the time Chivas rejoins the league in 2017, teams in Atlanta and Miami are expected to leave only one open space for a team, pending a finalized stadium plan for the latter.

The Miami ownership group hasn't been able to lock down financing from the city for a new stadium. MLS Deputy Commissioner Mark Abbott warned that without a stadium deal, the Miami bid could be in trouble, opening the door for another team to take its place.

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