The Sacramento City Council is set to vote Tuesday on a public financing plan to build a long-awaited soccer stadium, retail and entertainment center in the Railyards. The mostly vacant area north of Downtown has been slated for decades for large-scale development.
If the plan is approved, the 244-acre Railyards site could soon be home to a stadium and a renovated “Central Shops” area. That’s where a concert venue, brewery and restaurants are planned inside the brick industrial buildings once used to repair locomotives.
The stadium plans call for an expandable 12,000 seat facility east of 7th Street that could serve as the home for the Sacramento Republic FC, as well as concerts and other sporting and community events. The City Council in November voted 8-0 to approve a term sheet that provided a framework for the financing deal under consideration this week.
A February 2025 rendering of the Republic FC Stadium, part of the Railyards project.Courtesy of Sacramento Republic FC
But the proposal, which supporters say could pump billions into Sacramento’s economy, is not without controversy. Some union and community groups say the city’s financing plan amounts to a giveaway to private industry at a time when Sacramento’s facing a large budget deficit and city worker layoffs.
If approved by the council, the deal would commit the city to paying more than $90 million to the project developers in the form of future tax revenue generated by the soccer stadium and Central Shops. The public money would be paid over 30 years and allow developers to recover their up-front investment costs. Those companies include Downtown Railyard Venture, or DRV, and Indomitable, an LLC formed by Sacramento Republic FC and Wilton Rancheria.
Private developers would spend a combined $345 million on the soccer stadium, infrastructure upgrades and renovation of the Central Shops area, according to the city’s frequently asked questions document. For their private investments in infrastructure, Indomitable would be paid back $45 million and DRV would receive $50 million through tax revenue collected by the city’s Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District (EIFD), the document states.
Supporters argue the plan won’t draw money from the city’s general fund. This comes as Sacramento is working to reduce a $62 million deficit. Proponents believe it’s a necessary step to bring more life to Downtown. Mayor Kevin McCarty said it’s a chance to reshape Sacramento.
“This is a really good deal for taxpayers,” McCarty said. “I haven't always supported public subsidies, but this is a really good deal. Protects the general fund and is a really good return on our investment.”
But some labor and housing advocates maintain the city isn’t asking for enough in return.
Aamir Deen is the president of UNITE HERE Local 49, which represents hospitality workers who work in stadiums like the Golden 1 Center. He said workers need more affordable housing and that the city council should reject the deal.
“So, it will not address the housing crisis. It will make the budget situation worse,” Deen said at a press conference criticizing the city’s plan last week. “And our brothers and sisters who are facing layoffs, who work for the city don't need the budget to be made worse.”
Altogether, the full Railyards development is expected to include more than 10,000 housing units, with six percent of those required to be affordable under the proposed and current city plan, according to Deen. The site will also soon be home to the new Kaiser Permanente Downtown Medical Center, which broke ground a few months ago.
Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum, who represents the Downtown area, said he supports the project plans and looks forward to the new developments serving the entire region, not just his district.
“I'm looking at this very much as a regionalist. What can we do to make this a good experience for people as they're coming to Sacramento?” Pluckebaum said.
Currently, the area includes 495 housing units already completed, of which 219 are affordable, according to a city news release. The housing plans are not part of the financing proposal under consideration on Tuesday.
The vote on the Railyards soccer stadium and entertainment center financing will come on the same day the council also prepares to finalize the city budget. The council will consider the proposal at its 2 p.m. meeting at City Hall at 915 I Street. It will also be livestreamed.
A city staff report detailing the proposal is here.
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