Billed as “The Show,” Bay FC’s capacity crowd spectacle enchanted 40,091 soccer fans at Oracle Park on Saturday afternoon despite a 3-2 loss to the Washington Spirit. Although advertised as a one-off, the electric atmosphere inside the SF Giants home ballpark showed the desire of many San Francisco soccer fans yearning for the day a first division pro soccer team claims the City by the Bay as its home.
Throughout its first two seasons, the NWSL side has been warmly received and vocally supported by Bay Area soccer fans at PayPal Park in San Jose, the home of MLS’s San Jose Earthquakes, averaging over 13,000 fans.
Despite Bay FC finding a home in the South Bay, the team has always emphasized that it represents all nine Bay Area counties. Many local fans desire Bay FC to build its permanent stadium in a more centralized Bay Area location.
“We wanted to show our fans in San Francisco and the North Bay and the East Bay a little love by playing closer to home,” Bay FC CEO Brady Stewart told Mission Local about why they decided to play a game at Oracle Park in San Francisco.
Bay FC already has a significant presence in San Francisco. The club’s front office is located in downtown SF, and the team is building the club’s training facility on Treasure Island, slated to open in 2027, far from PayPal Park in San Jose. These signs indicate that one day they would want to call the City by the Bay home, despite its success in the South Bay.
“We have such an amazing fan base in San Jose, so it’s hard to pair those things in my mind, leaving all of our fans [in San Jose], but at the end of the day, ownership wants to make what’s best for the entire Bay Area, for the business and for the players,” explained Bay FC defender Emily Menges recently to Sports Illustrated. “They’re trying to push the standards across the league.”
The match at Oracle Park definitely pushed the standards for Bay FC and professional soccer in San Francisco. With a loud and boisterous crowd more than double the capacity size of PayPal Park, their fans’ energy was almost able to engineer Bay FC’s comeback from an early 3-0 deficit against the Spirit.
“I feel like, because of the fans, we are able to achieve those two goals,” said Racheal Kundananji. “The fight we gave out there was just so amazing.”
But when head coach Albertin Montoya was asked if Bay FC should move up Highway 101 and call San Francisco home, he was circumspect in his answer.
“We draw fans in San Jose. We draw fans in San Francisco,” said Montoya. “So, hey, our players are just happy to play in front of fans, wherever they are.”
Before Saturday’s Bay FC game, the last competitive pro soccer game in San Francisco was the NASL’s San Francisco Deltas championship victory over the New York Cosmos in 2017, where the fans stormed the field after the final whistle in celebration.
After that game, Deltas forward Tommy Heinemann reflected on his experience playing in front of soccer fans in the city.
“I don’t understand how soccer can’t succeed in San Francisco,” Heinemann mused to SFGATE. “If you were here tonight, you know it can succeed in San Francisco.”
The same question once again is at the forefront after Bay FC’s “Show” against the Washington Spirit. Hopefully, Saturday’s game will be the initial step for the NWSL team claiming the City by the Bay as its permanent home, and finally giving San Francisco the top-level professional soccer team it deserves.
