The city of Sacramento says they are built for Major League Soccer.
Sacramento has officially submitted its bid to try and bring an MLS expansion team to the capital city.
Kevin Nagle, the majority owner of Sacramento Republic FC, will now lead the way in participating in a formal review by the league as he hopes to move the organization to the MLS level.
"The reality of it is we've got a great ownership group," Nagle told ABC10. "We've got a great stadium location."
Today, Sacramento Republic FC announced that Hewlett Packard CEO Meg Whitman is joining the ownership group in the city's bid for an MLS team.
According to Greater Sacramento Economic Council president and CEO Barry Broome, there are three things that make Sacramento attractive for MLS: a committed ownership group that includes San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York, a proposed stadium at the downtown railyards that is "shovel-ready" to break ground, and dedicated fans.
"We've been building a fan base for a long time for this sport," Broome said. "It's a proven fan base."
One person who is on board is current Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, calling Sacramento "ready for MLS."
“It's a proud day for Sacramento as we submit our bid to become the next MLS city,” Mayor Steinberg said Tuesday in a statement.
“No community has worked harder or longer than ours to earn a place in the next round of MLS expansion. You see it in our dedicated fans, regional passion, and indomitable spirit. Congratulations to Kevin Nagle and everyone for leading the charge on this truly special opportunity to grow our economy, revitalize downtown, and bring new energy, community, and civic pride to our region. I am more convinced now than ever that Sacramento is ready for MLS.”
MLS commissioner Don Garber said last month the first two teams who are given expansion slots will have to pay $150 million each and are scheduled to be announced during the Spring or Fall of 2017.
Throughout the process, which now includes 12 cities bidding for four expansion slots, Sacramento has been widely regarded as a front-runner to land a MLS franchise.
The MLS will review bids from the 12 cities over the next six months. The Republic FC says if MLS decides to elevate their team to the next level, they could break ground on a stadium by June of 2018.
The two expansion teams picked would kick off their season by 2020.