SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento Republic Football Club fans filled Device Brewing in Midtown on Saturday to watch the United Soccer League team play against Salt Lake City’s Real Monarchs.
As the game played on big screens throughout the brewery, Drew Farmer talked to ABC10 about reports that Sacramento will land a Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise. The announcement is expected to come Monday.
“Do we really care that we’re going to MLS? No,” said Farmer, who’s a founding member of the Tower Bridge Battalion, an official fan club for the Sac Republic FC. “We love the club. We love soccer. We want to be extremely successful in whatever league we’re in.”
Sac Republic fans said they have a huge love for the team no matter which league they play in. Still, they understand how much a major league team would mean for the city.
“Shops, restaurants… it brings in excitement,” Farmer said. “You’re bringing in a stadium to the capital of California and that’s massive.”
The developer of the Railyard Project and local economic leaders said a major league team could help ignite the area with a $250 million stadium, housing, shops, restaurants and a medical center.
"I think the whole community is going to be very pleased when they see the sheer magnitude of development that's finally going to be occurring in the Railyards after all these years,” said Denton Kelley with LDK ventures.
Local business owners are also excited for the announcement.
“Golden 1 arena has already brought so much vitality to downtown and midtown. I believe the MLS stadium is only going to bring more,” said Ken Anthony, owner of Device Brewing. “More businesses, more people, more excitement and enthusiasm for coming downtown and midtown.”
Fans are invited to a block party on Capitol Mall following the announcement by Sac Republic FC on Monday at 4 p.m.
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The Tower Bridge Battalion is the group cheering for the Sacramento Republic FC at Papa Murphy's Park. It's a group for casual and hardcore fans alike.