San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie announced Friday that the city will be getting a new Major League Soccer Next Pro Team called Golden City FC.
They will play at Kezar Stadium and the city will be investing $10 million in private funding to improve the stadium.
The Bay Area already has several soccer teams, including the San Jose Earthquakes, Oakland Roots and Bay FC. All of those play in different leagues.
Golden FC will be playing in the same league as another team, The Town FC, which currently plays its home games in Moraga.
“We’re always trying to grow the game,” said The Town FC fan Manny Salinpour.
MLS Next Pro serves as a developmental bridge between youth soccer and MLS first teams. The Town FC is affiliated with the San Jose Earthquakes.
Salinpour said he was excited to hear about a second Next Pro team in the area.
“I believe it’s kind of a healthy competition,” explained Salinpour.
Media representatives with The Town say that, on average, their home games bring in about 1,200 fans. Many of those fans say they believe there are plenty of soccer fans to support multiple teams.
“I think if you look at the population, I think we all have pretty healthy populations in our cities,” Salinpour said. “If you just look at Europe, for example, Holland, I think all the teams are within 5-10 miles radius. I mean, if they could do it, why can’t we do it?”
Co-founder of The Town, Tennyson Wilson, does believe there is a possibility of oversaturation, but not yet.
“Not at this point,” responded Wilson. “I think there’s a lot of room for growth for soccer in the Bay Area. It’s such a big place, whether you’re North Bay, South Bay, East Bay, just having the ability to go see good high-level soccer, I think that’s the important piece. I think we could probably get there, but I don’t think we’re there yet.”
He’s excited and hopeful for the future of soccer in the Bay Area and beyond.
“I think obviously, as Americans, we have baseball and soccer and football and some of these other things that will usually take some of the top talent,” Wilson said. “But I think we’re seeing a little bit of a shift, right? Hopefully, with some of the events that we have coming, the World Cup over the next few years, the Olympics, soccer is a really pivotal part of that, so I’m really hopeful that will build that momentum and build the fans.”
Salinpour believes it’s particularly important to build the youth fan base.
He’s coached soccer clubs throughout his adult life. He’s brought a lot of his kids to The Town games to show them what they can aspire to be a part of in the future.
“Having a pro team out in this area is helpful,” Salinpour said. “We have a lot of kids here, a lot of club youth kids, and I think it’s really good for them to get their first look at the pro level.”
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