Football
Jeff Carlisle, U.S. soccer correspondent 9y

S.F. 49ers owners to invest in MLS hopeful Sacramento Republic

MLS expansion hopeful the Sacramento Republic has two new additions to its ownership group with San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York and his family saying they'll invest in the club one day after the Sacramento Kings organization were added as a minority investor.

The news was announced by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson during his State of the City address on Thursday evening and York followed up with a tweet confirming the news.

Sacramento Republic minority owner Larry Kelley is in the process of closing escrow on a site at the city's downtown rail yards, where the club intends to build a stadium. The club's hope is that the additional financial clout will push its expansion bid over the finish line.

MLS has long stated that it expects to expand from its current level of 20 teams to 24 by the end of the decade. Both Atlanta and Los Angles Football Club are slated to begin play in 2017. That leaves Minneapolis, Miami, San Antonio, St. Louis and Las Vegas among the cities vying with Sacramento for one of the last two slots in this round of expansion.

Minneapolis, with two competing bids, is thought to be a frontrunner, but Miami's stadium appears to be stalled at the moment. As for Las Vegas, a city council-approved plan to build a stadium could be headed for a voter referendum this summer after a petition against the stadium appeared to have the necessary number of signatures to put a measure on the ballot.

With the Kings and 49ers on board, Sacramento now has a compelling story to tell to MLS, which is expected to name the next two expansion teams by June.

The Republic currently plays in USL-PRO, the de facto third tier of the North American soccer pyramid after MLS and NASL. Last season the Republic averaged 11,293 fans per game.

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