Bay FC like to do things big. The trend started when the expansion side burst into the National Women’s Soccer League in 2024 and earned a playoff spot in its inaugural season. In that first season, the team averaged 13,000 fans in attendance, the fourth most in the NWSL, and led the league in merchandise sales. Now, they’re looking to go big once again, becoming the first women’s professional soccer team to play at Oracle Park in San Francisco. 

The home of MLB’s San Francisco Giants, Oracle Park has hosted several soccer matches over the last 20 years, including international friendlies and tournaments featuring powerhouses like Real Madrid, Juventus, Manchester City and the U.S. men’s national team. 

But the Bay FC match will be an essential addition to the list, mainly because the NWSL doesn’t have a great history with teams playing on baseball fields. For many years, struggling teams were often relegated to minor league ballparks with small, unsafe pitches, with limited facilities and a lack of fan seating. It became such a pervasive issue that the league’s collective bargaining agreement now bans teams from calling any ballpark home.

There is, however, a difference here. Oracle Park is a world-class ballpark, centrally located and the perfect spot for a one-time showcase for San Franciscans to get a close look at their local professional women’s soccer team. It’s just what the Chicago Stars did in 2024 when the team temporarily moved a game to Wrigley Field, allowing them to smash an NWSL attendance record with over 35,000 fans in attendance.

“World-class, professional soccer should be played in world-class, professional soccer stadiums,” says NWSL Players Association executive director Meghann Burke. “The NWSLPA generally opposes games being played on converted surfaces like baseball fields, and that’s why the players fought so hard for the prohibition against it.

“Last season, we agreed to a one-time exception for Wrigley as part of a broader strategic plan to make the case for a new home for the Stars. This year, we’ve agreed to a one-time exception for Oracle as part of Bay’s search for a permanent home.”

When Bay FC saw how successful the game at Wrigley was, especially as the visiting team for that match, they wanted in. They knew if they could get their product in front of more eyes and use the baseball stadium as a test case for a more central location for the Bay Area team, one night in the ballpark would be worth it.  

“If we go back to the beginning of the league when we first played on baseball fields, they were minor league fields that were not the correct dimensions or the quality that we wanted,” Bay FC defender Caprice Dydasco says. “The locker rooms weren’t great, the grass wasn’t great, everything was not ideal and we fought so hard in the CBA to get off the baseball fields. So while it might seem that we’re going backwards, there is a bigger opportunity here to have more fans from the city and see if it’s even possible to build a stadium there.”

Chicago Red Stars and Bay FC at Wrigley Field.
Bay FC’s match against the Chicago Red Stars at Wrigley Field broke an NWSL attendance record. | Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images

For Dydasco, seeing the process play out for the Chicago Stars at Wrigley was a significant part of why she felt comfortable with this process. As the visiting team for that match, she got to sit in on the planning calls and see firsthand what went into the one-time venue change. As a league veteran, she understands why the Stars, who struggle with attendance at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Ill., nearly 45 minutes from the city center, would want to test out a game in the heart of Chicago. 

Together with Bay FC’s staff, the players from Bay and the visiting Washington Spirit, along with the NWSLPA, were involved in every step, ensuring their standards were met, that the dimensions of the field would be appropriate, and the facilities would be adequate for the teams. 

“Our club did a great job in making sure this was the players’ choice,” Dydasco says. “We say that we’re a player-focused club. Marketing and management came to the leadership group and said this is an idea, we do represent all of the Bay Area, so we want to make sure we play in those markets, but we want to make sure you all feel safe.”

The club then laid out its plan to the players. As of now, Bay FC play in San Jose at PayPal Park, which is about an hour outside of San Francisco. Team management not only wanted to break an attendance record for the club, but see firsthand the appetite for a stadium a bit closer to the city center. 

“The team involved us right from the start, from walking the grounds at Oracle with the groundskeeper, who was the same guy who was there when Real Madrid played there, so we’re not the first ever soccer team to play on this field,” Dydasco says. “It has been done and it’s been to the standard of other teams.”

Racheal Kundananji and Dorian Bailey of Bay FC at Oracle Park
Bay FC forward Racheal Kundananji (left) threw out the first pitch—or, kick—before a Giants game in April. | Andy Kuno/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images

This was a relief to the player group, who did not want to be treated as a test case, especially with the league’s history with baseball fields. Oracle Park met their standards, and the players—via the team’s trio of NWSLPA reps in Rachel Hill, Emily Menges and Dydasco—will be kept updated up until game day. 

“We had to pitch to all the PA reps for every team as to why we wanted to play [at Oracle],” Dydasco explains. “There was some backlash, which is good, because as PA reps we want to ask the hard questions, such as if we feel we’re going backwards. But Emily, Rachel and I wanted to make sure it was worth it, it was safe, and it’s our responsibility to make sure the standards are met to ensure the game is quality.”

Now, Bay FC players are putting their trust in the club’s front office. From marketing efforts to ticket sales, they see the staff working to make sure this one-off game serves its intended purpose and benefits both the players and fans. With a massive budget set aside to market this significant game, the players see their owners trying to make this a positive experience for everyone, with a specific goal of creating a more sustainable business model for the club in the future. 

“I think it’s going to be massive, and it shows our ownership group is not messing around,” says Menges. “They’re constantly trying to find creative ways to push standards. I think they’re doing their due diligence on where to find a good location for a stadium, and they want to compete with Kansas City on having the best women’s-only stadium in the world.”

Local fans may have already caught glimpses of the team’s marketing efforts, including billboards on the 101 Highway for “The Show at Oracle Park.” With pregame and halftime performances, gate giveaways, limited edition merch and more surprises, Bay FC are creating an experience that fans will not want to miss. 

“We spoke with our head of marketing about what they’re doing in order to make this game something really special for us, and they’re just going above and beyond to get people in San Francisco excited,” Menges says.

With this game comes the reality of possibly moving the team away from San Jose, where a dedicated fanbase has already quickly taken to the team, filling up the stadium week after week. It’s a reality that is difficult for the players who have grown attached to their current home, but one that is necessary for continued sustainability, moving the team forward with the exponential growth of women’s soccer in the United States.

“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,” Menges says. “They’re trying to push the standards across the league.”

Real Madrid and Club America at the Oracle Park stadium
Real Madrid are one of a handful of soccer teams that have played at Oracle Park. | James Williamson/AMA/Getty Images

With Bay FC still flirting with a playoff position, a big game in a big stadium with a record crowd could be just the boost needed to help pick up a much-needed three points. “Why not us,” has been manager Albertin Montoya’s mantra for the second half of the season. Why can’t Bay FC pick up the most points in the second half of the season? What’s holding them back other than themselves?

“We can’t just drop easy points anymore,” Menges says. “I think we’re fired up, because last year we really took off in the second half of the season. We know what’s possible. We’ve not given up any kind of belief, and we’re even more invigorated at this point of the season.”

While the excitement builds for the Oracle Park spectacle, the enduring message is that this cannot be the perpetual answer for teams looking to move closer to large population areas. 

“This limited exception serves a limited business purpose—that of showing that NWSL games can attract more than 30,000 fans to a game in a particular market—but a baseball stadium is not and should not be a permanent solution,” Burke says.

Be that as it may, on Aug. 23, Bay FC will step up to the plate to make their case for San Francisco, even if just this one time, and swing for the fences for the future of the club. 

More NWSL on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as How Bay FC Planned Their Historic NWSL Match at SF Giants’ Oracle Park.