Although the new soccer stadium project in Sacramento still has a chance of being completed, its public funding has been blocked. Residents and union members are demanding more affordable housing and better protection of local community interests.

Funding halted, union protests effective

Not long ago, it seemed that the long-awaited Sacramento Republic FC stadium in the Railyards district would finally become reality. In June, the Sacramento City Council approved a plan to expand the Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District (EFID), which was intended to enable the refinancing of infrastructure investments in the area.

However, in early July, the project hit an unexpected obstacle—effective protests from residents and union members blocked public funding worth more than $90 million. While waiting for the uncertain future of the stadium to be resolved, fans are turning their attention beyond sports, which leads them to visit https://www.thesportsgeek.com/sportsbooks/us/california/, where users can explore a wide variety of sports betting opportunities in California and take advantage of generous welcome bonuses.

According to California law, if more than 50% of residents or property owners within the planned financing district file a formal protest, the project cannot move forward for at least one year. That’s exactly what happened in Sacramento—according to Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum, who represents the district affected by the project, more than 100 protests were submitted, which was enough to halt the funding.

Behind the mobilization of residents stood the local union Unite Here Local 49, which represents, among others, hospitality and stadium workers. The union helped organize protests in two new residential complexes in the Railyards—The A.J. and The Wong Center—both of which opened within the past year.

Members who work downtown deserve to be able to afford to live where they can work and this is an important step towards that goal said Sonya Karabel, a researcher with Unite Here Local 49. The city has an opportunity now to make this a city where families can afford to live where they work.

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Too few affordable housing units

The main criticism from protesters was the low number of affordable housing units. According to the published plans, only 6% of the 10,000 new units were expected to qualify as affordable. Karabel called this level shamefully low. The union argued that the project favored wealthy developers at the expense of the working class and deepened the city’s housing crisis.

In a complaint filed against the city, Unite Here Local 49 accused local authorities of mismanaging the protest process and failing to properly count the submitted objections during the June oversight committee meeting. The complaint also cited a city housing plan that requires at least 20% of revenues from similar investment projects to be allocated to affordable housing—something the current project fails to meet.

The project is not abandoned

Despite the suspension of public funding, city officials and representatives of Sacramento Republic FC insist that the Railyards Stadium investment will move forward. Mayor Kevin McCarty emphasized that the project is still moving forward and that the city is working on alternative support paths that won’t burden the general fund. "We are building alternative pathways – which will not impact the General Fund – to support the project" he said.

Sacramento Republic FC President Todd Dunivant also confirmed that the stadium is still set to open for the 2027 season. We’re going to keep moving forward. We’ll be talking, soon, about groundbreaking he stated.

Councilmember Pluckebaum, though deeply disappointed by the decision to halt the EFID expansion, declared continued support for the project: Despite this setback, I remain committed to building the soccer stadium, housing and amenities in the Railyards He also warned that the union’s tactics might discourage other developers: That we’re going to treat our partners this way is just very disappointing.