Bay FC have the stars and the hype. The Bay Area has always been a hotbed of women’s soccer talent. His newest team is off to a rocky start, but he believes it is built on solid foundations.
“We can’t wait to give [the fans] the results they deserve,” says the team’s number 10, Deyna Castellanos.
“Make sure you don’t give up on us,” says Zambian striker Racheal Kundananji, who joined Bay FC for a world-record transfer fee earlier this year.
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Previously, the pair’s perfect partnership had produced two spectacular goals that briefly tied the match against the Portland Thorns at 2-2. That was before a goal from Portland’s Sophia Smith sealed the latest heartbreak (and fifth loss) in Bay FC’s short history.
“Let’s figure it out,” says Bay FC coach Albertin Montoya. “We are so close”.
Bay FC plays its home games at PayPal Park, right across the runway from the San Jose airport. Their debut season in the NWSL marks the return of top-tier women’s soccer to the San Francisco Bay Area. But while their predecessors, the star-studded FC Gold Pride, once thrived on the pitch without managing to garner much interest from potential fans,
Bay FC seemingly had their players’ faces plastered on every bus and train station in the region before even starting. foot on the court. Buoyed by that strong marketing campaign, the franchise finally took off in March, and its first home game sold out the 18,000-seat stadium. Bay FC have the stars and the hype
Winning roots (Bay FC have the stars and the hype)
On the cold, rainy night of March 30, it took Brandi Chastain’s jubilant wails and screams to get fans out from under their blankets at Bay FC’s home opener.
“We’re going to get it here every time, every thing, every day,” the Bay FC co-founder shouted into the microphone. Bay FC have the stars and the hype
As if on cue, the navy blue and poppy red crowd at PayPal Park rose — and didn’t let up for the rest of the game.
Chastain understood the gravity of the event. The former USWNT star — whose celebration when she scored the decisive penalty in the 1999 World Cup final became one of the most famous images in the game’s history — had been here before, and knew success was no sure thing. During her playing career, she was part of two teams in the Bay Area, both of which failed.
She was part of FC Gold Pride, and also won the FC Women’s United Football Association title for a short stint with the San Jose Cyber Rays in 2001. Neither team was able to build the foundations needed to achieve success. Bay FC have the stars and the hype
“Those were the days of individual owners who wanted to give their daughters a role model and wanted to support the game their daughters loved so much,” Chastain says. “So it wasn’t really a sustainable league.” Bay FC have the stars and the hype
FC Gold Pride is a particularly striking example. Their annual budget was $3 million, and the family-owned team moved around the country, playing in stadiums that had no locker rooms, and dealing with substandard playing surfaces and accommodations.
To build community and increase ticket sales, players such as Canada’s Christine Sinclair and Brazil’s Cissy have been making phone calls with season ticket holders and sending them on recruiting trips to local parks and soccer stadiums.
Talent was not an issue: during their existence they had stars like Sinclair, Ceci, Chastain and four-time FIFA Women’s Player of the Year (she won the award twice more). Perhaps unsurprisingly, they claimed the title in 2010 after defeating Philadelphia Independence 4-0 in the final. But even with their massive star power and success on the pitch, FC Gold Pride failed to pass the 4,000 crowd mark or gain any traction with sponsors and the media. They folded later that year with losses of $5 million. Bay FC have the stars and the hype
Bay FC hopes to do things differently. Thanks to a record $125 million investment from private equity firm Sixth Street, the team set up shop in just eight months and attracted a committed following that seemed to have been waiting to be born.
They were sold on the promise of building something special, and an excellent group of international players were tempted away from clubs such as Manchester City, Barcelona and Arsenal. Behind the scenes, the club has recruited former top brass from the NBA’s Golden State Warriors to their executive team and appointed big names like former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg and former Warriors president Rick Welts to its board of directors. Bay FC have the stars and the hype