The proposed stadium for a Major League Soccer team, in the
northeast corner of The Railyards, would seat at least 20,000, and it
could be ready for the 2022 season.
rendering : hntb , courtesy of sacramento republic fc
The project is moving forward in large part because bil-
lionaire Ron Burkle joined Republic FC’s MLS bid in January
as lead investor and majority team owner. Like Ranadivé for
the Kings, Burkle’s deep pockets have made all the difference
for Republic FC, after MLS officials told the team it was un-
derfunded. Team cofounder Warren Smith brought Republic
FC to Sacramento in 2014 as a minor-league team in the Unit-
ed Soccer League. Needing more funding to impress MLS,
Smith brought in investor Kevin Nagle as team chairman
and CEO. But even Nagle’s pockets weren’t deep enough to
impress MLS in 2018, when the league awarded a franchise
to Cincinnati instead.
Landing Burkle, who didn’t respond to an interview re-
quest for this story and rarely talks publicly, was a major coup
for Republic FC, which must cover roughly 90 percent of the
stadium’s expected $250 million-plus construction cost and
also pay a $200 million expansion fee to MLS. Burkle, worth
an estimated $1.5 billion, according to Forbes magazine,
founded and is managing partner of The Yucaipa Compa-
nies, a private equity and venture capital firm, and has been
a successful Hollywood producer (“Three Days to Kill” and
“The Giver” are among his 17 credits on IMDb). More import-
ant to Sacramento, perhaps, is his success as co-owner of the
Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League, which
has won three Stanley Cups in his 20 years with the team.
Nagle, who also has a minority stake in the Kings, had a
connection to Burkle from when Burkle almost bought the
Kings before bowing out due to a conflict of interest, open-
ing the way for Ranadivé to step forward. Burkle had no such
conflict with Republic FC.
“It sort of became natural that when you looked for some-
body who understood sports, understands the value of sports,
understands the value of a sports team beyond just what it
stands for, Ron became a perfect person to (consider),” Nagle
says. “We were really delighted to have him come onboard
because it’s so meaningful and he’s so well-connected across
the country. It’s been a great enhancement to us.”
Nagle and Burkle have developed a rapport. “I’ve come to
know Ron better and better,” Nagle says. “He’s a great guy. He’s
fun to talk to, and he’s interesting.”
Other names in the ownership group could soon emerge.
Nagle says former professional baseball player Derrek Lee
August 2019 | comstocksmag.com
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