The NWSL’s 2024 season saw the debut of a long-overdue San Francisco Bay Area expansion team, Bay FC, owned in part by former U.S. Women’s National Team players, including Aly Wagner and Brandi Chastain.
The former owner of the San Jose Earthquakes MLS men’s team, Lewis Wolff, is a real estate developer who built PayPal Park with zero public funds, completing the project in 2015. We mention this fact because you’ll notice it as soon as you enter the park — this stadium feels like it was a money-is-no-object build. The stadium has high-end design touches like polished concrete floors and dark walnut wood accents throughout that scream, “They didn’t go with the lowest bidders here!
We say this team is long-overdue because the stadium lies in the shadow of Santa Clara University, less than a mile away, and is a short jaunt to Stanford and UC Berkeley — three hotspots for NCAA women’s soccer with players who frequently get drafted into the NWSL. Heck, the wildly popular 2002 film Bend It Like Beckham culminated in the main character scoring a scholarship to play soccer at Santa Clara University, which was her dream. The Bay Area also has a metro population of nearly 8 million people and is the epicenter of LGBTQIA+ culture in America. With a long pedigree like that, you’d think the NWSL would have launched with a Bay Area team back in 2013, but at least there is one now for 2024 and beyond.
Since 2015, any time we flew into the San Jose, California airport, we’d see this bright, glistening soccer stadium as we came in for a landing and think, “Why don’t the ’Quakes have a women’s team sharing their space and fanbase like the Portland Thorns and Timbers do?”
The Bay FC’s inaugural season had a good start and they spent big on international star players, including Asisat Oshoala and Racheal Kundananji. They’re also backed by veterans with years of experience like Rachel Hill, Emily Menges, and Caprice Dydasco. All that talent paid off, with the team making it into the playoffs in their first season, which is a true rarity in the NWSL.
Let’s talk about how you can visit and enjoy a game at PayPal Park.
Stadium information
Bay FC signed a five-year agreement to play home games at PayPal Park while they consider building their own stadium in the future, but they’ll be here until at least 2029. PayPal Park is a modern, beautiful pitch that has a European feel and design, and it can house up to 18,000 fans in what still feels like an intimate space.
The stadium also boasts that it’s home to the largest outdoor bar in North America, in a 2-acre fan zone that also features a double-sided video scoreboard and room for games on the lawn as well as a plethora of food trucks (as we got to enjoy on our special Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander theme night).
Where to sit
The “shady side” of the stadium is found in sections 101 to 113 with slightly higher ticket prices while sections 124 to 134 get afternoon and direct early evening sun. With the steep rows throughout, almost any spot in the stadium offers a great vantage point, as people in front of you won’t block the action. Inclement weather isn’t much of a factor in the Bay Area, but large awnings around the stadium will protect the top half of the seated rows on those rare rainy days.
Every single seat in the entire stadium is a comfortable, high-backed, padded one.
Fancy seats are quite rare; usually we’ve only found these in expensive game suites or special high-end sections that cost much more. We loved the seats at our game, as they really are much nicer than the hard plastic ones you typically find at every other venue.
PayPal park has the steepest seating of any soccer-specific stadium in America, which means no matter where you sit, you’ll have a great uninterrupted view of the action.
The steep seating does make getting to your seat a real workout, as there is no mid-level walking path that surrounds the stadium to allow for moving between sections. Everyone has to enter their section from the base of the stadium and then walk all the way up to their seats, so be sure to grab food and drinks before you sit down.
We didn’t notice much ADA seating outside of spots along the bottom of the stands for wheelchair users and companions.
For locals, there’s a large supporters area behind the goal, which is shown on the diagram above, with tickets going for less than $20 for these standing-only spots.
- Sections 101–113 are on the shady side — worth the slightly higher price for afternoon games
- Every seat is padded and high-backed — some of the nicest seats in the entire NWSL
- The steep rows mean unobstructed views from anywhere in the stadium
- Grab food before you sit — there's no mid-level walkway, so it's a long climb back down
- Standing supporter tickets behind the goal go for under $20
What to eat and drink
PayPal Park had no shortage of food and drink options. First, there’s the massive bar along the fan zone, and then the multiple bars inside the stadium along both sides of the pitch. There are a few drinks-only spots with ample tap lists. We enjoyed a mixed cocktail from a stadium bar and it even came in a nice keepsake cup highlighting the inaugural Bay FC season.
Food-wise, there were easily over 20 different cuisine options inside the stadium, with room in the fan zone for additional food trucks. Food options themselves were impressive. Our first meal was a freshly carved, smoked turkey sandwich from a stand in the stadium, and later on we had some actually good pizza. It was not only stellar for a stadium, but had the kind of perfect crust you’d find at a restaurant that took pizza seriously.
With the large amount of food options available, lines were fast and waiting for more than a few minutes was rare even though our game had an attendance of over 10,000 people. Pricing was pretty standard, with most entrees running $10 to $15, and sodas running about $5. Beer, wine, and cocktails started around $10 each.
Since everyone has to climb to their seats from the bottom and stay there for much of the match, this was the first NWSL stadium we’ve experienced on our nationwide tour that had vendors walking around selling churros, cotton candy, popcorn, and drinks. You just wave them down to get your refreshments, saving a long journey down the stairs and out to concessions.
Team merchandise, restrooms, and pre-game activities
PayPal Park has been home to the San Jose Earthquakes for nine years. The brick-and-mortar team store area was limited to ’Quakes merchandise and was closed during our Bay FC game. But there were two large trailers with lots of teamwear options, one in the fan zone and one on the outside of the stadium, as well as a temporary team store inside the stadium that had the widest variety of clothing and souvenirs for sale. Hopefully for next season they’ll figure out how to combine the teams into their larger store spaces as most other teams do when an MLS and NWSL team share a venue.
Restrooms were located all over and offered generally nice facilities and privacy. At the start of the half we did notice lines at multiple women’s restroom locations stretching into the walkways, so perhaps increased capacity on the women’s side of things would make things easier for fans.
Because we attended on a special night, there was no shortage of things to do before the game. We saw massive lines outside the gates before game start (PayPal Park opens 90 minutes before weekday games like ours, two hours before weekend games) and by the time we entered the stadium, the fan zone was in full swing with soccer goals and balls set up and cornhole games, as well as tons of food trucks offering theme-night food. There was a live DJ spinning hits and theme-night dancers as well. Overall, we’d suggest getting to games an hour early to enjoy the action, grab some food, get a mixed drink from any of the bars, and enjoy the California sun.
- The 2-acre fan zone with 38 bartenders and food trucks — arrive an hour early
- Vendors walk the stands selling churros, popcorn, and drinks — wave one down
- Hang out under the glass bridge post-game to cheer players on their walk to the locker room
- The mixed cocktails come in keepsake cups — worth grabbing one
Pre-game, in-game, and post-game vibes
The pre-game vibes were fun and upbeat, and because it was a theme night, there were plenty of activities amidst a party-like atmosphere. Getting food and drinks was easy and Bay FC even had its own drumline corps to help with player introductions as well as play drums in the fan zone during halftime. Player introductions on the pitch included fireworks and giant balls of fire.
On our theme night, there was a featured DJ playing dance hits at a pretty high volume, and with planes landing directly across the street every few minutes, the music drowned them out pretty well.
Bay FC fans were loud and amped up for much of the match, though when they were down by two goals it got fairly quiet. Once Bay FC scored, the whole place erupted, complete with one of us getting an Apple Watch 90dB loud noise warning, and you could feel the energy of the entire stadium pushing their local team to strive for a tie that almost happened but never quite came.
After the match was over, people slowly made their way down the long staircases out to the walkways. Quite a number of people stuck around post-game since aisles were crowded. The fan zone seemed to be in full swing for half an hour after the game.
Our section was near something we’ve never seen at any other NWSL park. When players left the pitch and headed to the locker rooms, they walked over the main public walkway on a glass-sided bridge. Below, a few hundred fans hung out well after the game waiting to catch a glimpse of their favorite player so they could cheer them on as they walked past. It was a clever solution to the problem of how players get from the locker room to the pitch and back without being to sign autographs, but it also let fans cheer for them from a safe distance.
Getting there
Flying in
Traveling to a game is quite easy because the stadium sits right alongside the San José Mineta International Airport (SJC). From the airport it’s about a mile-long walk to the stadium or a $10 Uber or Lyft ride.
Driving in
Parking options ranged in price from around $25 to $75 depending on how far you were willing to walk, and know that if you do drive a rental or your own personal car in and pay for parking, leaving the stadium will take a while. We witnessed a traffic backup lasting for nearly an hour after the game, which is unfortunately pretty normal for California sporting events, where everyone has to enter and exit through narrow roadways.
Taking public transit
There’s just one bus line (VTA 60) that stops right in front of the park, and the closest light rail is the Santa Clara Caltrain station that’s about a 20-minute walk away from the stadium. Trips from downtown San Francisco to the Santa Clara station take about an hour each way.
- Flying: SJC airport is right next door so it's a 1-mile walk or $10 Uber ride
- Driving: budget $25–75 for parking and expect 30min+ to exit post-game
- Transit: Santa Clara Caltrain station is a 20-min walk from the stadium, ~1hr from downtown SF
Where to stay
If you were going to spend a few days in the area, you’ll probably want to stay closer to San Francisco, which is loaded with things to do and world-famous places to see. San Jose is a bit of a sleepy town, mostly home to single-family homes and technology companies with their high-rise buildings that dot the landscape.
We lived in the Bay Area for several years and we vacation there every few years, and as much as we love the area, San Jose is a bit boring. We once had fun visiting the Winchester Mystery House, but usually when we spend time in the Bay Area it’s at places farther north and east, like San Francisco city proper, Oakland and Berkeley across the Bay, and the Marin area.
If you opt to stay somewhere closer to San Francisco and want to visit a lot of different places, you’ll likely need a rental car as each section of the Bay Area is best served by its own local transit system.
If you want something as easy as possible, there’s an upscale Marriott hotel immediately next to PayPal Park that offers a two-minute walk between your room and the stadium. But our advice would be to stay somewhere closer to wherever you’ll spend most of your time outside of game day.
What to do in the Bay Area (besides watch soccer)
The Bay Area is a fun place with ample options for stuff to do outside of going to a match. Near San Jose, you can visit the headquarters of Apple (and many other tech firms), the aforementioned Winchester Mystery House, and a slew of museums that surround the Plaza de Cesar Chavez park.
Farther out from San Jose, there are famous universities to visit like Stanford (which has art walks, outdoor sculpture gardens, and a beautiful campus) or Berkeley (ditto). The coastline around Pacifica all the way down to Santa Cruz is loaded with incredible towns with tons to see and do.
San Francisco is a great place to spend a few days. There’s Golden Gate Park, which much like Central Park in NYC offers hundreds of acres of respite from the hustle and bustle of the city. There are also great attractions like the de Young Museum and the California Academy of Science inside the park. On Sundays in summer, Golden Gate Park closes to car traffic and turns into a giant walking, biking, and roller skating mecca. The road that borders the park along the ocean will soon be car-free as well.
There are classic touristy things in San Francisco that are worth checking out. Personally, we love The Ferry Building for being a place where you can sample over a dozen different cuisines while also shopping at tons of different small stores. It’s also a great place to take a stroll along the Embarcadero, get a good view of the Bay Bridge, and check out places like the Exploratorium science museum. If you’ve never seen Alcatraz, Coit Tower, or Lombard Street, each of those is worth checking out, since they all show up so often in TV shows and movies. The Golden Gate Bridge is a wonder to behold and there are great spots to view it around Crissy Field, or the base of the bridge deeper in the Presidio. Don’t forget you can also walk, ride, or drive across the bridge and enjoy it up close too.
North of San Francisco, the various overlooks offer great views of the Golden Gate Bridge as well as the San Francisco skyline in the distance. There are day trips to climb Mount Tamalpais or visit the coastal redwood forest at Muir Woods (featured in movies like Return of the Jedi), which is really awe-inspiring to be so close to such huge trees.
- Stay in San Francisco, not San Jose — far more to see and do
- The Ferry Building is a must for food lovers — a dozen cuisines under one roof
- Golden Gate Park closes to cars on Sundays — great for walking and biking
- Day trip to Muir Woods for the coastal redwoods — genuinely awe-inspiring
- Stanford's campus has free outdoor sculpture gardens worth a stroll
Most of the cities surrounding the San Francisco Bay offer great views to the ocean, ample outdoor activities, and some of the best food you’ll find in the state. You can’t go wrong picking things to do before or after your match and you will likely have a great time spending a few days in the Bay Area.
