Bay FC

Did You Know?

• Bay FC paid a reported $53 million expansion fee, the largest in NWSL history and ten times the fee from the league's previous expansion in 2021.
• On February 13, 2024, Bay FC signed Zambian forward Racheal Kundananji for $860,000, setting a new record for the most expensive transfer in women's soccer history.

History

The San Francisco Bay Area had two earlier professional women's soccer teams: the San Jose CyberRays in the Women's United Soccer Association and FC Gold Pride in Women's Professional Soccer. In 2022, former USWNT and pro players Brandi Chastain, Leslie Osborne, Danielle Slaton, and Aly Wagner announced a group called "NWSL to the Bay" to push for an NWSL expansion team in the region. Their push started in 2020, just after Angel City was founded in Los Angeles by Kara Nortman, Natalie Portman, and Julie Uhrman.

Their bid went up against groups from Columbus, Atlanta, Austin, Cincinnati, Toronto, St. Louis, and Nashville. By late 2022, the NWSL had narrowed its second of two 2024 expansion slots to the Bay Area bid, a bid in the former Boston Breakers market, and a third in Tampa. By January 2023, reports indicated Tampa was out and that both the Bay Area and Boston would get expansion teams, with fees around $50 million each. The league did not confirm anything before an official announcement.

On April 4, 2023, the league formally awarded one of its two planned 2024 expansion teams to the Bay Area group for a reported $53 million expansion fee. Sixth Street added another $72 million toward the club’s launch, making the planned initial investment about $125 million. On September 27, 2023, Albertin Montoya was named the team’s first head coach. On November 15, defender Alex Loera became the club’s first signing, coming from the Kansas City Current for $175,000 in allocation money and protection from Bay FC in the 2024 Expansion Draft.

Six days later, the club signed 2021 Defender of the Year Caprice Dydasco, a right back from the Houston Dash. On December 13, 2023, the club announced its full coaching staff: Angela Salem and Jason Goodson as assistant coaches, and Diego Restrepo as head of goalkeeping.

Stadium

When Bay FC was first announced, it didn't have a permanent home, which sparked interest from multiple Bay Area cities hoping to host the team. San Francisco officials proposed building a dedicated stadium at locations like Pier 70 or the Westfield San Francisco Centre mall. In July 2023, the club secured a five-year deal to play at PayPal Park in San Jose, sharing the venue with the MLS San Jose Earthquakes while it works on its own stadium. A 3,600-square-foot space was added there for locker rooms and offices. CEO Brady Stewart also hinted that some matches could be held elsewhere to reach fans beyond the South Bay. The team broke ground on a performance center on Treasure Island in September 2025.

Ownership and investment group

The Bay Area’s NWSL expansion club, Bay FC, was built around Sixth Street Partners as its lead investor. The founding board included former USWNT players Brandi Chastain, Leslie Osborne, Danielle Slaton, and Aly Wagner, alongside Sixth Street CEO Alan Waxman, ex-San Francisco Giants executive Staci Slaughter, former Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg, and Golden State Warriors president Rick Welts. Wagner and Waxman served as co-chairpersons, while Sandberg’s husband, Tom Bernthal, was also an investor. At a June 3 launch event, Waxman revealed that former NBA star Andre Iguodala held a minority ownership stake.

The expansion fee set a league record, ten times larger than the fee from the NWSL’s previous expansion in 2021. The ownership group also committed an additional $72 million in startup investment, with Waxman stating Sixth Street planned to hold the franchise for at least a decade. Bay FC became the first U.S. professional sports team with an institutional investor as its majority owner, a structure typically restricted or banned in other American leagues. NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman noted that the investment came from Sixth Street Tao Partners, a balance sheet fund without a liquidation requirement, which the league treated like an individual owner with significant net worth. That same fund also covered Sixth Street’s 20% stake in the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs.

To guard against a premature exit by Sixth Street, the league required Waxman to provide financial assurances and represent the club on the NWSL board of governors. Co-chair Wagner was named the alternate board representative. Before Sixth Street’s involvement, the original ownership group raised initial capital and added Motley Fool and Anne Hoge to the board of directors. They joined Jen Vescio, Tim Connors, Ward Bullard, CJ Napolitano, and David Aufhauser, alongside the four former USWNT players, in leading early efforts to bring an NWSL team to the Bay Area.

Colors and crest

Bay FC’s crest and colors were introduced on June 1, 2023. The circular logo features a blackletter B that incorporates a Golden Gate Bridge support. The primary colors are a blue called Bay and a warm red called Poppy, with two gray shades—Fog Gray and Steel—as secondary colors. The branding and logo design involved input from advertising agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners. According to Wagner, the club deliberately chose not to use nicknames or mascots, aiming for a timeless and simple concept.