Sacramento Republic FC's inclusion into MLS delayed 1 year due to coronavirus

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento will have to wait one more year for an MLS team. 

This time, the delay is because of a worldwide pandemic.

In a press release, Republic FC announced it will now join MLS in 2023, as opposed to 2022, because of the coronavirus pandemic. This delayed inclusion also led to a delay in the construction of the new soccer stadium in Sacramento’s Railyards. 

The Sacramento Republic now plans to break ground next fall. The stadium was originally slated to break ground this summer. City projects connected to the Railyards Stadium remain on track, the release stated, and should begin in early 2021.

Republic FC, which just resumed play in the United Soccer League for the 2020 season, will remain in USL’s Championship division through the 2022 season.

“We know there have been major impacts from the pandemic in every aspect of our great city and we recognize that our MLS project is not impervious to those impacts,” Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said in the press release. “I applaud how Republic FC has shifted their resources during this time to support those most in need in our community and I have no doubt that we will celebrate a world-class stadium opening and our MLS inaugural season together in 2023.”

Teams in St. Louis and Charlotte also announced delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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