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Friend of ICS and Sacramento Republic beat reporter for the Davis Enterprise, Evan Ream, is generally on top of Republic happenings before they happen, and doesn't make a habit of reporting nonsense. I was therefore interested when Evan dropped this little tidbit on Monday afternoon:
Hearing meeting to decide Republic's fate in MLS will happen at Allstar break. If granted a spot, Sac could announce as soon as this fall
— Evan Ream (@EvanReam) May 17, 2016
It's not unusual for MLS to convene its board of governors at the All-Star Game and make big decisions like this, nor should we be surprised that a decision on the Republic's future in MLS could come this year. It's been said that Don Garber, MLS commissioner, would like to have this done before local backer and Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson leaves office late this year.
We reached out to Republic FC for comment, but with these types of discussions unlikely to involve anyone not currently invested in MLS, the club understandably isn't planning to speak for Garber and company.
If Republic FC is in fact on the All-Star break agenda, it makes sense that an announcement would wait until after new sponsors are secured, which will be needed in order to have the requisite cash flow to operate in year one. Garber stated as much during his visit in April.
What do you think? Is the Republic on the verge of receiving its golden ticket? Leave a comment below.