Sacramento Republic FC
Full name | Sacramento Republic FC | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Nickname(s) | Republic, The Quails[1] | |||
Founded | 2012 | |||
Stadium | Heart Health Park | |||
Capacity | 11,569 | |||
Owner | Sac Soccer & Entertainment Holdings, LLC | |||
Chairman and CEO | Kevin M. Nagle | |||
Head coach | Mark Briggs | |||
League | USL Championship | |||
2023 | 1st, Western Conference Playoffs: Conference Final | |||
Website | Club website | |||
| ||||
Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that plays in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, the team started play in 2014 at the 20,231-seat Hughes Stadium, before moving midseason to their current home at Heart Health Park. Republic FC won the 2014 USL championship and have made the playoffs eight times.
The team submitted an expansion bid for the top level Major League Soccer in January 2017. On May 15, 2017, MLS bid proponent Sac Soccer & Entertainment Holdings, led by Kevin Nagle, officially acquired Sacramento Republic FC from president and co-founder Warren Smith. On October 21, 2019, MLS announced that Sacramento Republic would be the 29th team in MLS, originally slated to start in 2022, and later pushed to 2023.[2] However, on February 26, 2021, the expansion to the MLS was placed on indefinite hiatus.[3] The team is working with the city of Sacramento to build a $226 million stadium in the large Railyards urban infill project.[4]
History
On December 3, 2012, USL Pro announced that a Sacramento expansion team would join the league for the 2014 season.[5] On July 15, 2013, Predrag "Preki" Radosavljević was announced as head coach of the new franchise.[6] The official name of the team and team shield were decided by fan vote. On July 18, 2013, the franchise officially announced the team name Sacramento Republic FC during the first annual Sacramento Soccer Day.[7] As of April 2015, the team had sold more than 9,500 season-tickets.[8]
2014: First-year championship
Republic FC made their home debut on April 26, 2014, at Hughes Stadium, losing 2–1 to the Harrisburg City Islanders, before a sellout crowd of 20,231.[9] This figure nearly doubled the previous USL regular season single game attendance record of 10,697.[10] The following match, a 2–1 win over Orange County Blues FC, drew a slightly smaller crowd of 17,414. Eventually, all their home games were sellouts except this one.[11]
Republic FC inaugurated their new 8,000 seat, soccer-specific stadium,
On July 27, 2014, the team broke the USL regular season attendance record of 112,748, previously set by Orlando City SC. Their total attendance was 182,107 (158,107 regular season; 24,000 in the playoffs).[13]
Republic FC finished the regular season in 2nd place behind
2015–2021
Republic FC's second season saw them play in an expanded
Sacramento lost their first game of the season 4–2 away to
Sacramento placed fourth in the USL Western Conference standings after a season-concluding draw with conference champions
On January 22, 2019, billionaire
On September 19, 2019, Sacramento Republic FC was reported to be entering MLS as its 29th team, sources told CBS Sports. MLS called the report "erroneous" stating that they were still in "advanced discussions".[28] A press conference was held on October 21, 2019, to award an expansion team to Sacramento with Sacramento Republic FC slated to begin play in 2022.[29][30][31] Due to delays relating to the COVID-19 pandemic in California. Sacramento Republic and MLS announced that the team would instead play in 2023.[32] On February 26, 2021, MLS then announced that lead investor Ron Burkle "had decided not to acquire an expansion team in Sacramento", and the Republic's bid to join MLS as an expansion team was placed on indefinite hold.[33] Republic's 2021 troubles were not limited to off the pitch; the club missed the playoffs for the first time in its history, finishing 13th in the Western Conference with an 8W-12D-12L record.
2022: Open Cup runners-up
With the return of the
Colors and crest
Republic FC's colors are old glory red, maple, and egg shell. The club crest is a classic shield that honors the Bear Flag, taking several colors from the flag itself. The crest also carries an image of a California grizzly bear, which is found on the state's flag and is California's official state animal, along with a nautical star, which is representative of, and in the same color as, the star on the Bear Flag. Below the bear is the motto of the city of Sacramento, "Urbs Indomita", in Latin meaning "Indomitable City".[37]
Kit
The club released the design of their inaugural home and away shirts on December 5, 2013. The kit manufacturer was Italian sportswear company Lotto, with UC Davis Children's Hospital as the shirt sponsor through the 2016 season. The home kit's dominant color is the club's signature color "Old Glory Red", and the away shirt is primarily white. Both Lotto kits featured a diagonal stripe of dark maroon, with the club crest positioned on the left side of the wearer's chest. The club's motto, "Urbs Indomita", was printed on the right sleeve.[38] The third kit, unveiled before the 2015 season and US Open Cup, featured horizontal eggshell and white stripes and a star over the crest to commemorate the previous season's USL Championship.[39]
On November 21, 2015, Republic FC announced a new partnership with Nike and unveiled new home and away kits for the 2016 USL season. The home kit is once again "Old Glory Red," while the away kit is now white and gray. Both designs omit the diagonal stripe in favor of vertical patterns. The new designs feature "Urbs Indomita" written on the back neckline.[40]
UC Davis Children's Hospital, the kit sponsor since the club's inception and one of Republic FC's first corporate partners, renewed their sponsorship on July 22, 2016, for USL play beyond the year 2016. Moreover, UC Davis Health Systems announced it would become the shirt sponsor in MLS should Republic receive an expansion bid.[41]
Sponsorship
Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
---|---|---|
2014–2015 | Lotto | UC Davis Health |
2016–2022 | Nike | |
2023–present | Hummel[42] |
Supporters
This section needs additional citations for verification. (August 2014) |
Republic FC draws fans from a large region of Northern California, with many fans traveling from the eastern areas of the bay and as far north as Redding to watch matches.[citation needed]
The club's independent
The Tower Bridge Battalion have been central in organizing fan support of a Major League Soccer expansion team in Sacramento. On September 19, 2014, the Battalion led a crowd of thousands through the streets in downtown Sacramento designed to showcase the area's fanbase for MLS officials.[46]
Stadiums
Heart Health Park
When the club was originally proposed, officials had planned on using
On June 20, 2014, the club played its inaugural match at the completed
In January 2015, expansion efforts at Bonney Field began to increase the seating at the stadium.[50] Capacity for 2015 was expanded to 11,442,[51] with added seats in the north endline and east sideline. In March 2017, Papa Murphy's Holdings, Inc. acquired the naming rights to the stadium, and Bonney Field was renamed Papa Murphy's Park.[citation needed] On May 5, 2021, the Sacramento Republic FC and Western Health Advantage agreed to a new naming rights deal that would change the name of the stadium to Heart Health Park.[citation needed]
Proposed Railyards stadium
As part of team owners' efforts for the club to join MLS as an expansion team, Republic FC has announced intentions to build
The concept design of the new stadium, based in part on fan input from a web survey and a series of workshops, was unveiled on December 1, 2015.[54][55] Though designed with a closed bowl, the stadium will have separate stands on different sides to create a unique character for each one, an homage to classic English stadia like St James' Park. To meet the designer's stated goal of creating MLS's best home field advantage, the seating will feature the steepest grade in the MLS in and an untiered east side reminiscent of Westfalenstadion's Yellow Wall.[56] On December 1, the evening of the design unveil, the Sacramento City Council voted 8–0 to approve a term sheet promoting construction of the 25,000-seat venue, with a target 2018 completion date if the club is accepted into MLS. The stadium is estimated to cost $226 million, and will be privately financed.[57]
On April 2, 2019, Sacramento Republic FC released updated renderings of the proposed stadium. Additions to the previous design included a 360-degree concourse/pedestrian walkway, new seating at the canopy level on the west side of the stadium, and additional field-level seating areas, raising the cost to about $252 million. The team stated that if their MLS bid is accepted, they would likely begin construction on the stadium immediately, hoping to complete it by late 2021 or early 2022, in time for the 2022 MLS season. With the team being accepted into MLS on October 21, 2019, they were expected to complete construction for the 2023 season.[58][59] The plans to build the stadium and join the league are on indefinite hiatus as of February 2021.[60]
Players and technical staff
First-team roster
- As of April 12, 2024[61]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
- ^ USL Academy Contract
Technical staff
- As of January 28, 2022[62]
Position | Name |
---|---|
General manager | Todd Dunivant |
Head coach | Mark Briggs |
Assistant coach | Martín Vásquez |
Goalkeeping coach | Bradley Johnson |
Team records
Year-by-year
This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by Republic. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Sacramento Republic FC seasons.
Season | League | Position | Playoffs | USOC | Continental | Average attendance 1 | Top goalscorer(s) 2 | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Div | League | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Conf. | Overall | Name | Goals | ||||||
2019 | 2 | USLC | 34 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 50 | 43 | +7 | 48 | 1.41 | 7th | 15th | QF | R4 | DNQ | 10,436 | Cameron Iwasa | 17 | |
2020 | USLC | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 27 | 17 | +10 | 30 | 1.88 | 5th | 10th | R1 | NH | 11,569 | Dariusz Formella | 8 | |||
2021 | USLC | 32 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 36 | 42 | −6 | 36 | 1.13 | 13th | 24th | DNQ | NH | 6,926 | Cameron Iwasa | 8 | |||
2022 | USLC | 34 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 48 | 34 | +14 | 53 | 1.56 | 4th | 10th | QF | RU | 9,876 | Maalique Foster Rodrigo López |
8 | |||
2023 | USLC | 34 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 51 | 26 | +25 | 64 | 1.88 | 1st | 2nd | F | R5 | 10,627 | Russell Cicerone | 17 |
^ 1. Avg. attendance include statistics from league matches only.
Head coaches
- As of September 15, 2023
- Includes USL Regular season, USL Play-offs and U.S. Lamar Hunt Open Cup
Coach | Nationality | Start | End | Games | Win | Loss | Draw | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Preki[63] | United States | July 15, 2013 | July 11, 2015 | 54 | 32 | 15 | 7 | 59.26 |
Paul Buckle | England | July 12, 2015 | February 1, 2018 | 78 | 34 | 23 | 21 | 43.59 |
Simon Elliott | New Zealand | February 1, 2018 | November 5, 2019 | 79 | 40 | 25 | 14 | 50.63 |
Mark Briggs | England | December 16, 2019 | present | 121 | 53 | 33 | 35 | 43.80 |
Average attendances
Year | Reg. season | Play-offs |
---|---|---|
2014 | 11,293 (USL Record) | 8,000 |
2015 | 11,329 (USL Record) | 11,442 |
2016 | 11,514 | 10,926 |
2017 | 11,569 | — |
2018 | 11,311 | 11,569 |
2019 | 10,436 | 9,907 |
2020 | 11,569 | 11,569 |
Club captains
Dates | Player | Nationality |
---|---|---|
2014–2015 | Dima Cuzeac | United States |
2016–2017 | Danny Barrera | Colombia |
2018 | Jeremy Hall
|
Puerto Rico |
2019 | Cameron Iwasa | United States |
2020 | Drew Skundrich | United States |
Rodrigo López | Mexico | |
2021 | Petteri Pennanen | Finland |
Honors
League
- USL Championship
- Champions (1): 2014
- USL Championship Western Conference (Regular Season)
- Champions (1): 2016
- USL Playoffs
- Appearances (9):
Domestic Cup
- U.S. Open Cup
- Runners-up (1): 2022
References
- ^ "The Quail Kit".
- ^ Brisendine, Steve. "Sacramento ownership group, Republic FC reach agreement for unified MLS bid". MLS. Major League Soccer. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
- ^ Carlisle, Jeff. "Sacramento MLS team on indefinite hold after investor pulls out of deal". ESPN. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ Lillis, Ryan; Kaiser, Dale. "Sacramento council OKs preliminary term sheet for soccer stadium". The Sacramento Bee. McClatchy Corp. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
- Sacramento Bee. December 3, 2012. Archived from the originalon December 4, 2012. Retrieved December 4, 2012.
- ^ "Preki resurfaces as the man to help lead Sacramento toward MLS". Major League Soccer. July 15, 2013.
- Sacramento Bee. July 18, 2013. Archived from the originalon January 7, 2014.
- ^ "Republic FC reaches season ticket cap at 9,500", Sacramento Bee, June 11, 2015.
- ^ "Republic FC loses home opener before sellout crowd at Hughes Stadium" Archived April 27, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Sacramento Bee, April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Sacramento Republic FC opener sells out, sets league record" Archived May 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Sacramento Bee, April 25, 2014.
- ^ "Sacramento pleases large crowd with win " Archived May 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Sacramento Bee, May 3, 2014.
- ^ "Republic FC thrills sell-out crowd at new Bonney Field", Soccer America, June 21, 2014.
- ^ "Sacramento Republic FC sets USL attendance record", Sacramento Bee, July 28, 2014.
- Sacramento Bee. September 27, 2014. Archived from the originalon September 28, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
- ^ "Republic FC Claims USL PRO Championship". United Soccer Leagues (USL). September 27, 2014. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
- ^ "USL PRO Awards Winners Announced". United Soccer Leagues (USL). September 26, 2014. Archived from the original on October 4, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ^ "Sacramento Republic FC strengthens bid for MLS franchise with new investors from NBA, NFL". SB Nation. January 31, 2015.
- ^ "Match Report: Sacramento Republic". Sacramento Republic. Archived from the original on March 25, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
- ^ "Match Report: Sacramento Republic". Sacramento Republic. Archived from the original on May 28, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
- ^ "Match Report: Sacramento Republic". Sacramento Republic. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
- ^ "Cup Draw: US Open Cup". Sacramento Republic. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
- ^ "Republic Announce Preki Accepts Position in UK". Sacramento Republic FC. July 7, 2015. Archived from the original on August 10, 2015..
- ^ "Match Report: Sacramento Republic". Sacramento Republic. July 14, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
- ^ "2015 Standings". United Soccer League. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
- ^ "Match Report: Sacramento Republic". Sacramento Republic. September 22, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
- ^ "Match Report: Sacramento Republic". Sacramento Republic. September 26, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
- ^ Carlisle, Jeff (January 22, 2019). "Sacramento Republic's MLS hopes get boost as Ron Burkle agrees to take over team". ESPN. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
- ^ "Sacramento to be awarded a franchise for 2022; announcement expected soon". CBS Sport. September 19, 2019.
- ^ Zimmerman, Douglas (October 16, 2019). "Report: Sacramento Republic FC to join Major League Soccer". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
- ^ "MLS to announce Sacramento expansion on Monday, franchises expected to start playing in 2023". CBSSports.com. October 16, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
- ^ Bizjak, Tony (October 16, 2019). "Sacramento expected to be announced as 29th Major League Soccer team Monday". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
- ^ "MLS Expansion: New timeline released for inaugural season of newest clubs". MLSsoccer.com.
- ^ "MLS announces update on Sacramento expansion". MLSsoccer.com.
- ^ "Sacramento Republic FC Continues Indomitable Run to 2022 U.S. Open Cup Final with 5–4 PK Win vs. Sporting Kansas City". www.ussoccer.com. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ Martinez, Jeremiah (July 26, 2022). "A look at the Sacramento Republic FC's Open Cup run". Fox40.com. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
- ^ Manna, Orko (July 29, 2022). "Fans, city leaders want Sacramento Republic FC in the MLS following huge US Open Cup semifinal win". KCRA. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
- ^ "Know Your Crest". Sacramento Republic FC. Archived from the original on December 26, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
- ^ "Republic FC Unveils Inaugural Season Kit with UC Davis Children's Hospital". Sacramento Republic FC. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
- ^ "Sacramento Republic FC Unveil Third Kit for 2015 Season". Sacramento Republic FC. May 7, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
- ^ "Sacramento Republic FC and Nike Partner on 2016 Kit". Sacramento Republic FC. November 21, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
- ^ "Sacramento Republic soccer makes big sponsorship deal with UC Davis". Sacramento Bee. July 22, 2016.
- ^ "Republic FC Partners with Global Football Apparel Provider hummel".
- Sacramento Bee. April 23, 2014.
- ^ "Millennials kick up soccer's popularity". Marketplace.org. June 26, 2014.
- ^ "Sacramento is Already an MLS City | VICE Sports". Archived from the original on September 22, 2014.
- ^ "Sacramento Republic FC fans turnout for MLS". Kcra.com. September 19, 2014.
- ^ a b "Play and Practice Location". Sacramento Republic FC. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
- Sacramento Bee. November 14, 2013. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
- Cal Expo. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
- CBS Sacramento. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
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- Sacramento Bee. August 14, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
- ^ "Concept designs unveiled for new Sacramento MLS stadium". Sacramento Republic FC. December 1, 2015. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
- ^ "A stadium built for the world's game". Sacramento Republic FC. December 1, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
- Sacramento Bee. December 1, 2015. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
- ^ "Republic FC Release Updated MLS Stadium Renderings". Sacramento Republic FC – USL. April 2, 2019.
- ^ "Major League Soccer, Republic FC Adjust Expansion Timeline Due to Pandemic". Sacramento Republic FC – USL. July 17, 2020.
- ^ Carlisle, Jeff. "Sacramento MLS team on indefinite hold after investor pulls out of deal". ESPN. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ "Team Roster". sacrepublicfc.com. Sacramento Republic FC. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ^ "Front Office & Coaching Staff". sacrepublicfc.com.
- Sacramento Bee.