Get ready for the minor-league soccer team Golden City Football Club to take over Kezar Stadium, after it was announced Friday that the new team is coming in 2026 or 2027, along with a $10 million renovation to make Kezar more of a pro sports venue again.
We noted in last week’s 100th anniversary of Kezar Stadium commemoration that the place used to be the much larger home venue of the San Francisco 49ers (and briefly even the Oakland Raiders), and is currently a high school sports venue and home to the semi-pro soccer team San Francisco City FC. But Kezar Stadium is about to get a multi-million dollar makeover, and become a much bigger deal. The Chronicle broke the news that San Francisco is getting a new men’s professional soccer team, to begin play at the renovated Kezar Stadium in 2026 or 2027.
They will be called Golden City Football Club (GCFC), and they already have a website, albeit a bare-bones site that only shows you the team colors. They will play in a minor-league affiliate of Major League Soccer called MLS NEXT Pro, with 15 home games a season at Kezar, mostly on weekends, in a season that runs from February through October.
MLS Next Pro is the third-tier of Major League Soccer, not unlike Major League Baseball’s minor leagues, or the NBA’s G-League. (The league has games on today if you have Apple TV and want to watch them.) The league is not affiliated with the Oakland Roots and their USL Championship League, but it’s the same league as the San Jose Earthquakes’ minor-league affiliate The Town FC who play at St. Mary’s in Moraga.
“This announcement is more than just a new team — it represents a new era for San Francisco sports,” Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a Friday morning press release. “From business and retail to sports, it's a good time to bet on San Francisco, and I’m thrilled to partner with MLS NEXT Pro to bring a new team to our city.”
According to that announcement from Lurie’s office, the new team ownership will put “a minimum of $10 million in capital improvements at Kezar Stadium, with further investments planned.” That means a new natural grass field and irrigation system, new seats with backrests, a sound system, pro venue-style concession stands, and even a dazzling LED scoreboard.
That’s going to be paid for by the team’s co-founders Geoff Oltmans and Marc Rohrer, whom the Chronicle describes as “Bay Area finance executives and San Francisco soccer dads who both played collegiately.”
Major League Soccer executive vice president Charles Altchek added in Lurie’s press release, “We are excited to work with GCFC on their plan to bring an independent team to San Francisco. Bringing professional soccer to this iconic city aligns with our mission to expand the reach of the game and foster a vibrant soccer culture in communities across North America."
This will not interfere with the other uses of Kezar stadium, and you’ll still be able to run that track which will generally remain open to the public. Kezar will still serve as the home team football venue for Mission High School and Sacred Heart Cathedral, and they’ll still have the Turkey Day Game high school championship there. It will just be a better stadium with a kick-ass scoreboard.
As the Chronicle reminds us, we once had a pro soccer team called the San Francisco Deltas that played at Kezar Stadium back in 2017. They won the North American Soccer League championship in their first year, but the league promptly folded 12 days after that championship.
Today’s announcement is surely a boon to the Upper Haight’s small businesses, particularly the sports bars.
"For decades, Kezar Pub has been a gathering place for fans of Bay Area sports —whether it’s football, rugby, soccer, or basketball — and we know firsthand how vital sports and tourism are for local businesses like ours,” Kezar Pub owner Cyril Hackett said in Lurie’s release. “We look forward to carrying on our tradition of hospitality and can’t wait to see GCFC fans fill the pub before and after matches.”
Image: San Francisco Deltas via Facebook
