By Sam Stejskal, Paul Tenorio and Jeff Rueter, with additional reporting by Meg Linehan
MLS announced on Friday that Ron Burkle will not be moving forward with an expansion team in Sacramento, which doubts the city’s hopes of winning a place in the league.
Burkle was also involved in Sacramento’s NWSL bid. The Athletic reported in August 2020 that the city would receive an expansion team – news confirmed at a press conference in January by NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird. It’s not yet clear how Burkle’s withdrawal will affect Sacramento’s efforts in NWSL, but the early impression from sources is that it will not detract from the team’s goal of joining the league in 2022.
A real estate group led by Burkle received an MLS expansion team in Sacramento in October 2019.