Kings owners in talks to buy Sacramento’s Republic FC

Discussion in 'Sacramento Republic FC' started by sugit, Aug 3, 2014.

  1. sugit

    sugit Member

    Feb 5, 2010
    Sacramento
    Story on the long rumor......let's see if they can get this closed out. Some interesting stuff here.

    Marcos Breton: Kings owners in talks to buy Sacramento’s Republic FC soccer club

    Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/03/6601050/kings-owners-in-talks-to-buy-sacramentos.html#storylink=cpy

    Even as they begin building a new downtown arena, the owners of the Kings are in discussions to expand their footprint in the region by buying Sacramento Republic FC – the minor league soccer team selling out games locally since April.

    There is no agreement in place yet between the Kings and the Republic, but the Kings owners are interested in the idea of investing in the franchise and elevating it to the level of Major League Soccer, America’s premier soccer league, according to sources with knowledge of the talks. They declined to speak publicly because the deal isn’t completed.

    This week, Kings President Chris Granger will travel to Portland to meet with MLS officials along with current Republic owner Warren Smith. Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson is also expected to attend the meeting, scheduled for Wednesday.

    .........................

    “Clearly the support for the Republic has been noticed by all of us,” said Dan Courtemanche, executive vice president of communications for MLS. “It’s been incredible what we’ve seen week in and week out.”
     
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  2. Knave

    Knave Member+

    May 25, 1999
    This is the "big money" news I've been waiting for. If these guys sign on, things go from SRFC should be in MLS to SRFC will be in MLS.
     
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  3. mangerson

    mangerson Member+

    Sacramento Republic, San Jose Earthquakes
    Jan 8, 2008
    Sacramento, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    What a fantastic possibility. Although Minneapolis and San Antonio (especially, SA, IMHO) would probably be good additions to the league, one can't deny the inevitability of Sac getting a franchise if we land the whale. It this works out, we may will have shot to the top of the list.

    I made my usual trek to the bay last night and although it was a great experience being at Levi's and beating Seattle, the long light rail rides and the late drive home had me pining for MLS is Sac.

    Can't wait.
     
  4. Robdog

    Robdog Member+

    Oct 20, 2002
    Rancho Cordova, Cali
    Bring the Chivas USA franchise up here - rebrand that franchise & build a new stadium at the rail yards near downtown. No brainer right? However I do like the current location of Sac Republic. It's centralized & for a couple months of the year when the State Fair is going on, the atmosphere will be out of this World. Expand that Stadium to 20k+. IMHO bring Chivas USA up to Sac-Town is a no brainer.
     
  5. sugit

    sugit Member

    Feb 5, 2010
    Sacramento
    I have to imagine if a deal gets done with the Kings ownership group, esp after meeting with MLS like they are hoping to, the writing is on the way....
     
  6. mangerson

    mangerson Member+

    Sacramento Republic, San Jose Earthquakes
    Jan 8, 2008
    Sacramento, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Garber gave a sort of a state-of-the-league interview in March or April and indicated that the league is still very committed to keeping the Goats in LA. They're hoping to strike a deal with USC on a stadium near campus. It might just be commish-speak, but as of right now it appears moving Chivas is a non-starter.

    OTH, he also said that the league first needs to right the ship. Attendance is down even from last season's woeful numbers. They're now averaging less than 7,000 and even had one game with an announced attendance of just over 3k. I have no idea what the league is doing, if anything, to market the team right now.
     
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  7. Robdog

    Robdog Member+

    Oct 20, 2002
    Rancho Cordova, Cali
    If I am not mistaken, the MLS runs/owns Chivas USA. Why not cut your losses & move them to Sac-Town? Makes sense to me, especially if you can't get a deal w/ USC. The true potential is here in Sac-Town.
     
  8. Chesco United

    Chesco United Member+

    DC United
    Jun 24, 2001
    Chester County, PA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Argentina
    Garber seems obsessed with having two teams in LA.
     
  9. Knave

    Knave Member+

    May 25, 1999
    1. LA2, per se, will never be moved. Garber has made that 100% clear. However, if the league doesn't have an owner for LA2 after this season, you do wonder if they won't be put on hiatus. SRFC might then step in to fill the void on the table. But it will never be a "moving LA2 to Sacramento" situation on the books. It'll be expansion in Sacramento, LA2 resurrected down the road.

    2. The fairgrounds won't be the long term home of this team. That'll be downtown or close to downtown, without any doubt.
     
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  10. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    As does every other league that isn't the NFL, apparently.
     
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  11. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well, yeah, but not in the way you are thinking.

    Take a franchise from market #2 and move it to market #20 just because it looks like an easy solution for you? Okay, then.

    Buy an LA franchise (which the league did) and sell it for its necessarily lesser value in a smaller market?

    I like the world you live in, where everything is so ridiculously easy. Just take a team out of LA and put it in Sacramento and build a new stadium. Could be done next week, I guess.

    Because they've owned them for less than six months? They only have losses to cut if no one will buy them and keep them in LA, and we don't know that. Surely not yet.

    Of course it does.

    And there's nothing that says that potential can't be exploited in due time, with another franchise, while still maximizing the league's investment in Chivas USA. There's no cap on the size of the league, there's no pressing need to take Chivas and put them anywhere yet, and there's no pressure to bring Sacramento in lest they go to some other league.
     
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  12. fortunesfool223

    Sacramento Republic FC
    United States
    Dec 26, 2013
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't know what to think of this. The Kings owners are only one year into ownership, and have one HUGE project to focus on for the next two years (arena).
    I like that SRFC found local deep pockets, but cannot shake the feeling that the NBA team priorities will trump the MLS needs every time.
    If this goes through, I guess only time will tell....
     
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  13. Sempuukyaku

    Sempuukyaku Member+

    Apr 30, 2002
    Seattle, WA
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I mean, relocating Chivas to Sacramento even after Garber said there's no way that's happening?

    Come on, fellas. You guys have a big time, big money, VERY powerful ownership group trying to get your club and city to the promised land. Eyes on the ball, yeah?
     
  14. mangerson

    mangerson Member+

    Sacramento Republic, San Jose Earthquakes
    Jan 8, 2008
    Sacramento, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I know this is not a Chivas thread, but Steven Goff of Washington Post has tweeted that MLS is asking $60M for Chivas. There's at least one interested buyer. No other details other than describing the franchise as a "fixer-upper." LOL.

    I think that new franchises go for about $70M, so it's a good deal and relieves MLS from managing, marketing, etc. the franchise.
     
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  15. sugit

    sugit Member

    Feb 5, 2010
    Sacramento
    I wonder if as part of the term of sale the team would stay in LA.....
     
  16. 30King

    30King Member+

    Jul 22, 2013
    Rocklin, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Wow. MLS knocks $10 million off the purchase price, and has one party interested (which is what they said right after they bought the team from Veragas). Kinda flies in the face of the "but its LA!!! crowd". I've been skeptical all along of the value the Chivas franchise carries. LA market or not, you can only did so deep a hole marketing and public perception-wise before market size won't help.
     
  17. evan eleven

    evan eleven Member

    Jun 4, 2009
    California
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    i know there's lots of issues at play and it's much more complex than my cheeky BS analysis, but based only on success, profitability and relevance to their community, Republic FC is a bigger club than Chivas USA already. the Republic should be in MLS and the Goats, minus Cubo Torres (whose contract is still owned by Guadalajara if i'm not mistaken) should be in USL Pro. Chivas could renew their Superclasico rivalry with Galaxy II in Division 3. :p
    and the Republic could host Donovan, Keane and the real Galaxy to an expanded Bonney Field next year.
    seriously, it's not if, but when... ;)
     
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  18. SierraSpartan

    SierraSpartan Member+

    Jan 25, 2007
    Placer County, CA
    Club:
    Sacramento Republic FC
    [​IMG]

    Last thing we need is the Goats' problems following them up here.
     
  19. 30King

    30King Member+

    Jul 22, 2013
    Rocklin, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    All you have to bring up is the franchise tag and the players (under contract). Republic front office running the team, Preki coaching, and an overhaul of the roster.......no brainer. Do it now!!!

    All things Chivas get left in the dumpster behind Subhub
     
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  20. Robdog

    Robdog Member+

    Oct 20, 2002
    Rancho Cordova, Cali
    #20 Robdog, Aug 4, 2014
    Last edited: Aug 4, 2014
    Simple...rebrand everything Goats to Sac Republic FC - as long as we have a MLS franchise here in Sac-town it will be all good for the River City
     
  21. QuietType

    QuietType Member+

    Jun 6, 2009
    Sacramento, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't know how I feel about this.

    On one hand, excited we have a potential ownership group (though really, that shouldn't be a problem to attract investors to any MLS team at this point), and their ties to the Kings and how beloved they are by the city are great for cross-over support and get Kings fans to hopefully jump on board of something during the NBA offseason.

    On the other hand, I don't want the Sacramento team owned by people to which it will be the second fiddle (the Krafts and NE, Wolff and SJ, for example), and who aren't genuinely invested in the sport as their #1 passion. In some ways, I feel the team would be better off with a different ownership group, that wouldn't have a larger project to worry about, but rather have ownership who would be all in and focused on this team exclusively.

    So at first I'm like: :eek:
    Then I'm like: :D:geek:
    Then I'm like: :confused::unsure:
     
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  22. 30King

    30King Member+

    Jul 22, 2013
    Rocklin, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    From what I've seen from the Kings/ Ranadive, they are NOTHING like the Krafts or the Wolffs.

    I'm beyond excited. This is best case scenario for Sacramento. The Kings already have an intimate relationship/partnership with the City and Kevin Johnson. To steal a Ranadive word, this is a synergistic relationship.

    The NBA basically recruited Ranadive to buy the Kings. They liked his forward thinking visionary plan for NBA. I think MLS will be all over him.
     
  23. QuietType

    QuietType Member+

    Jun 6, 2009
    Sacramento, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I get that, but I'm still apprehensive about the second fiddle nature of such an arrangement. It is great to be tied, but also has some issues.

    I'll always remember Vivek saying in his pitch to the NBA, that (paraphrasing) "soccer was the sport of the 20th Century; I want to help make basketball the sport of the 21st Century." For what that's worth.
     
  24. fortunesfool223

    Sacramento Republic FC
    United States
    Dec 26, 2013
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I agree with QuietType. SRFC has run circles around the Kings in marketing and some of their other operations. I forsee the Kings siphoning off the top office talent at SRFC.
    SRFC's front office has more talent than many MLS teams' management, and I do not want SRFC to become a Central Valley version of the Earthquakes.
     
  25. 30King

    30King Member+

    Jul 22, 2013
    Rocklin, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Gotta disagree. I thought the new Kings did a pretty good job last season marketing the team.

    While SRFC has done a fantastic job, there were a few months before the season where I thought they were too quiet. I even sent them an email asking why they weren't at the local fall soccer tournaments.

    I think it will be a good marriage
     

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