San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Blueprint awaits Bay FC expansion team
Launching next year, newest NWSL club aims to emulate Angel City’s success
LOS ANGELES — Angel City FC’s first game without its World Cup players drew a tick under its usual league-leading attendance. Instead of the nearly 19,000 fans who pack BMO Stadium most weekends, 13,648 gathered to see the Challenge Cup match against San Diego on a Wednesday evening.
That number still would be ahead of every team in the NWSL except for Portland (16,635) in average attendance in the 2023 season.
Angel City FC’s success has fundamentally changed the league. Since its arrival last year, the team’s accomplishments both in branding and on the field showed what’s possible for a new franchise. In turn, that $2 million expansion fee it paid has been dwarfed by the $53 million price tag for Bay FC to enter the league in 2024.
“They’re the trend setter in this space and women’s soccer in the United States,” Bay FC cofounder Aly Wagner said of Angel City. “The way that they launched their brand, the way that they did it by bringing their community together. We’re learning from them. They have been so incredible helping us every step of the way.”
Angel City FC’s birth was part of the motivation for bringing Bay FC to life.
“Honestly, when Angel City announced their team, I immediately called the girls and said, ‘If Angel City’s doing it, why are we not?’ ” said co-founder Leslie Osborne.
With that blueprint, the Bay Area squad has some direction.
Though Angel City FC’s celebrity ownership group — including Serena Williams, Natalie Portman, and former national-team midfielder Julie Foudy — made for a splashy launch, its true driving force has been a community presence.
“The way that they have en
gaged the communities and really become a part of the fabric of the community and a loved brand” in Los Angeles, said Bay FC CEO Brady Stewart. “They have also done a great job leveraging data to grow their businesses. They’re running those businesses like direct-to-consumer businesses.”
The supporter’s section at BMO Stadium reflects the values the fans are seeking from the club. Overhanging from the balcony is one that reads “CELEBRATE BLACK JOY.” Trans flags fly side-by-side with Angel City banners. One larger banner displays in bright pink, “REBELLION.” Next to a progressive pride flag, a white sign with black text reads, “We love you for being you, and for loving who you love.”
Multiple fans interviewed for this story said they thought Angel City FC’s community involvement was genuine. That might be a testament to the team’s head of community, Catherine Dávila, a Sunnyvale native who has been at the forefront of the organization’s presence since Day 1.
Before the team announced its head coach and front-office staff, Dávila held meetings with supporter groups, and she has kept the dialogue open. Prior to the match with San Diego, she wove through the vast supporters’ section — there are six distinct groups for the club — highfiving and embracing fans, being pulled into side conversations.
She has helped the club form 13 community partnerships that receive donations of 10% of the team’s sponsorship proceeds. One partnership, with Century Regional Detention Facility Lynwood, helps 12 female inmates better their soccer skills. A portion of their BMO sponsorship goes to Girls Play Los Angeles, supporting over 400 high school-age girls and nonbinary youth across L.A. with no-cost access to soccer.
“I think the wonderful advantage that we have is that we’re able to go and take best learnings from a lot of the people that are doing it right,” said Bay FC co-founder Brandi Chastain. “Angel City didn’t have that advantage, but they had the advantage of building out first. We might not be able to necessarily emulate exactly what they did, but understanding how they were able to activate the community … obviously, they’ve gotten that really right.”
When Angel City and the San Diego Wave joined the NWSL in 2022, it finally gave California a presence in the league to match the state’s rich history in the sport. A large portion of the U.S. women’s national team has Bay Area ties, mainly through Stanford’s distinguished program. UCLA also has emerged as a power.
Recognizing the growth, the USWNT chose San Jose for the site of its send-off game (Sunday, against Wales) before heading to the World Cup. Four players on the team come from the two current California NWSL squads.
“The expansion teams in California have been so successful. Angel City and San Diego, we’ve done a great job of growing the league, bringing more followers and getting out in our community,” San Jose native Naomi Girma said. “I’m excited that there’s a team here now for a lot of young girls playing soccer here in the bay to look up to, and I’m excited to have a game at home every year.”
The Bay Area has lost an NFL team, the Raiders, and is on the verge of losing a Major League Baseball team, the A’s. The WNBA has yet to expand to the Bay Area — or anywhere — after years of waiting. The NWSL will be first to capitalize on a market starving for women’s sports.
Los Angeles has had the WNBA’s Sparks since 1996, but Angel City FC was its first pro women’s soccer team since 2009, and the fans have responded. Not just because it exists, but through the success of the grassroots outreach.
Bay FC has had three years to see Angel City soar, from the time it was granted an expansion spot in 2020, while planning its own branding and community impact. With eight months to go until Bay FC takes the field, there is significantly less time to generate the same type of presence.
The team hasn’t announced its stadium for the 2024 season, where it will practice, or when and where it will break ground for the multimillion-dollar planned practice facility. It will pick first in the expansion draft and second in the collegiate draft, dates to be determined, but little other news has filtered out aside from the hiring of Stewart and general manager Lucy Rushton.
Much of that is to come soon, after the World Cup cycle, when Bay FC will have a local spotlight. It has the benefit of seeing what has worked 375 miles south.
“You’re really seeing the results of a lot of hard, hard work,” Foudy said. “Angel City, and what we’ve seen in terms of numbers and attendance and sponsorship, revenue, and all these things that we felt were more than just anecdotal references. It’s been fantastic.”