Golden City FC

File:Daniel Lurie Headshot.jpg Daniel Lurie (pictured) helped promote the club's debut, and assisted in securing a permit to play at Kezar Stadium.]]

Silver Lake Partners manager Geoff Oltmans, and Wells Fargo financial advisor Marc Rohrer, co-founded Golden City FC in 2025, and struck a public–private partnership with the Government of San Francisco to upgrade Kezar Stadium for use as its home ground.{{cite web |last1=Whiting |first1=Sam |title=Men's pro soccer is coming back to San Francisco |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/pro-soccer-team-gcfc-kezar-stadium-20318330.php |website=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=May 10, 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250509142955/https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/pro-soccer-team-gcfc-kezar-stadium-20318330.php |archive-date=May 9, 2025 |date=May 9, 2025 |quote=Oltmans [...] runs the capital markets team at Silver Lake Partners in Menlo Park. Rohrer lives in the Lower Haight and is a financial adviser at Wells Fargo. They both played college soccer — Oltmans at Dartmouth and Rohrer at Fresno State. |url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}{{Harvnb|Whiting|2025|loc="The $10 million investment will be paid by the team's ownership group, led by co-founders Geoff Oltmans and Marc Rohrer, Bay Area finance executives [...] in what Lurie described as a 'public-private partnership'..."}} Oltmans and Rohrer previously played college soccer for the Dartmouth Big Green and Fresno State Bulldogs, respectively. The club's establishment was announced by the Mayor of San Francisco Daniel Lurie in May, through social media posts by the mayor's office, and interviews with local news media.{{cite web |last1=Baker |first1=Jordan |title=SF mayor announces new men's professional sports team |url=https://www.kron4.com/sports/sf-mayor-announces-new-mens-professional-sports-team/ |website=KRON4 News |access-date=May 10, 2025 |date=May 9, 2025}}{{cite web |last1=Corry |first1=Melanie |title=Professional soccer could be coming to Kezar Stadium in San Francisco |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/professional-soccer-san-francisco/ |website=CBS News Bay Area |access-date=May 10, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250510030637/https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/professional-soccer-san-francisco/ |archive-date=May 10, 2025 |date=May 9, 2025 |url-status=live}} Oltmans and Silver Lake Partners previously donated at least $152,000 and $275,500 respectively to a poverty reduction nonprofit founded by Lurie.{{cite web |last1=Greschler |first1=Gabe |title=Lurie wants a soccer team in SF. Its co-owner gave big to mayor's nonprofit |url=https://sfstandard.com/2025/05/16/san-francisco-nonprofit-daniel-lurie-tipping-point-ethics/ |website=The San Francisco Standard |access-date=May 16, 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250516-134215/https://sfstandard.com/2025/05/16/san-francisco-nonprofit-daniel-lurie-tipping-point-ethics/ |archive-date=May 16, 2025 |date=May 16, 2025 |url-status=live}} The announcement also coincided with the hundredth anniversary of Kezar's opening in May 1925.{{cite web |last1=Curry |first1=Ryan |title=San Francisco's Kezar Stadium turns 100 years old |url=https://www.kcra.com/article/san-franciscos-kezar-stadium-100-years-old/64658926 |website=KCRA 3 News |access-date=May 10, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250510054201/https://www.kcra.com/article/san-franciscos-kezar-stadium-100-years-old/64658926 |archive-date=May 10, 2025 |date=May 2, 2025 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |last1=Pawlowska |first1=Kasia |title=$10 million partnership will reshape historic San Francisco stadium |url=https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/sf-landmark-multimillion-dollar-makeover-20319601.php |website=SFGate |access-date=May 10, 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250510105636/https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/sf-landmark-multimillion-dollar-makeover-20319601.php |archive-date=May 10, 2025 |date=May 9, 2025 |url-status=live}} Legislation co-sponsored by Lurie and supervisor Bilal Mahmood was introduced to the Board of Supervisors that would grant the club a fifteen-year permit to play at Kezar, with an option for an extension to thirty years.{{cite web |last1=Vaziri |first1=Aidin |title=San Francisco approves $10 million deal to bring pro soccer to Kezar Stadium despite pushback |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/san-francisco-kezar-stadium-pro-soccer-golden-city-20383450.php |website=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=June 20, 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250620151931/https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/san-francisco-kezar-stadium-pro-soccer-golden-city-20383450.php |archive-date=June 20, 2025 |date=June 18, 2025 |quote=The 15-year deal [...] grants Golden City Football Club the right to host its MLS Next Pro matches at Kezar, with the option to extend the permit for up to 30 years. Critics argue the deal was rushed through with limited public input and favors private interests at the expense of longstanding local organizations. |url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}

San Francisco City FC, the primary tenant at Kezar, were given two days' notice of the plans, and were offered "at least one game at Kezar — possibly more" by the Recreation & Parks Department.{{cite web |last1=Vaziri |first1=Aidin |title=Kezar Stadium is at the center of a brewing soccer battle in San Francisco |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/kezar-stadium-soccer-battle-20323783.php |website=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=May 14, 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250514142944/https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/kezar-stadium-soccer-battle-20323783.php |archive-date=May 14, 2025 |date=May 13, 2025b |quote=...the club received just two days' notice before the public announcement. Tamara Barak Aparton, spokesperson for the Recreation and Park Department, said San Francisco City FC will still have access to city fields, including at least one game at Kezar — possibly more... |url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}{{cite web |last1=Coale |first1=Kristi |title=Valkyries, Warriors, and Giants, Oh My: How a Sports Boom Helps Local Business Rebound |url=https://thefrisc.com/valkyries-warriors-and-giants-oh-my-how-a-sports-boom-helps-local-business-rebound/ |website=The Frisc |access-date=June 20, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250620145316/https://thefrisc.com/valkyries-warriors-and-giants-oh-my-how-a-sports-boom-helps-local-business-rebound/ |archive-date=June 20, 2025 |date=June 19, 2025 |url-status=live}} Facing a move to a "subpar" venue, San Francisco City FC and its supporters protested the plans, criticizing them as "rushed through with limited public input and [favoring] private interests at the expense of longstanding local organizations".{{Harvnb|Vaziri|2025b|loc="Blackley countered that with the new plan, the team will be relegated mostly to Boxer Stadium, which he described as a subpar facility. Supporters of San Francisco City FC spoke at Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting."}} El Farolito SC and the San Francisco Nighthawks, who also play at Kezar, similarly expressed concerns, though were optimistic about the plan's potential to grow soccer in San Francisco, and spur desired upgrades to other venues in the city.{{cite web |last1=Salazar |first1=James |title=Soccer clubs see mixed bag in proposed pro team at Kezar Stadium |url=https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/the-city/golden-city-kezar-stadium-plan-mixed-bag-for-sf-soccer-clubs/article_2f64f508-70d7-408a-8763-35e493dea9f3.html |website=San Francisco Examiner |access-date=May 16, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250516103209/https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/the-city/golden-city-kezar-stadium-plan-mixed-bag-for-sf-soccer-clubs/article_2f64f508-70d7-408a-8763-35e493dea9f3.html |archive-date=May 16, 2025 |date=May 15, 2025 |url-status=live}} Despite this opposition, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the permit without discussion in June. Golden City FC plans to commence play in MLS Next Pro, a Division 3 league in the United States league system, in the 2026 or 2027 season.{{cite web |author1=Bay Area News Group |author1-link=Bay Area News Group |title=MLS Next Pro independent soccer league expanding to San Francisco |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/05/09/mls-san-francisco-mayor-lurie-soccer-earthquakes-golden-city/ |website=The Mercury News |access-date=May 10, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250510030738/https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/05/09/mls-san-francisco-mayor-lurie-soccer-earthquakes-golden-city/ |archive-date=May 10, 2025 |date=May 9, 2025 |quote=GCGC {{Sic}} would join MLS Next Pro [...] in 2026 or 2027. Planned improvements to Kezar Stadium include a new natural grass field with modern irrigation, new seats, a state-of-the-art sound system, and a high-definition LED scoreboard.|url-status=live |url-access=limited}}

Golden City FC's ownership group includes its co-founders, Geoff Oltmans and Marc Rohrer. Neither the club's full board of owners nor its funding sources have been publicized, though it aims to have as many as twelve San Francisco Bay Area-based investors in the club's ownership group.{{Harvnb|Whiting|2025|loc="Oltmans declined to discuss details of the team's financing but said the group is still adding investors to a partnership that may end up with more than a dozen, all Bay Area-based."}}

File:'49ers (28791895142) (cropped2).jpg (pictured) for its home games.]]

Golden City FC plans to play its home games at the 10,000-capacity Kezar Stadium in San Francisco, located on the inner, southeastern corner of Golden Gate Park, adjacent to the Haight-Ashbury neighbourhood.{{cite web |last1=Russo |first1=Charles |title=Historical photos from when the 49ers played in the heart of San Francisco |url=https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/san-francisco-49ers-historical-photos-18615255.php |website=SFGate |access-date=May 10, 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250510054611/https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/san-francisco-49ers-historical-photos-18615255.php |archive-date=May 10, 2025 |date=January 20, 2024 |url-status=live}} It is currently the home of amateur club San Francisco City FC,{{cite web |last1=Kukura |first1=Joe |title=SF Is Getting a New Pro Soccer Team, and They'll Play at Kezar Stadium |url=https://sfist.com/2025/05/09/sf-is-getting-a-new-pro-soccer-team-and-theyll-play-at-kezar-stadium/ |website=SFist |access-date=May 10, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250510030641/https://sfist.com/2025/05/09/sf-is-getting-a-new-pro-soccer-team-and-theyll-play-at-kezar-stadium/ |archive-date=May 10, 2025 |date=May 9, 2025 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |last1=Ream |first1=Evan |title=After debut last year, fan-owned San Francisco City begins new US Open Cup quest |url=https://thecup.us/2015/10/23/after-debut-last-year-fan-owned-san-francisco-city-begins-new-us-open-cup-quest/ |website=TheCup.us |access-date=May 10, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250510051935/https://thecup.us/2015/10/23/after-debut-last-year-fan-owned-san-francisco-city-begins-new-us-open-cup-quest/ |archive-date=May 10, 2025 |date=October 23, 2015 |url-status=live}} and was previously the home of two defunct professional clubs: the California Victory and San Francisco Deltas.{{Harvnb|Whiting|2025|loc="In 2016, the San Francisco Deltas of the North American Soccer League (NASL) announced their arrival by installing 4,000 of the old plastic orange seats from recently demolished Candlestick Park to replace some of the wooden benches at Kezar."}} The club seeks to renovate the stadium prior to commencing play, providing $10 million of private funding for "capital improvements", including a new natural grass field with irrigation sprinklers, accessibility compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and upgraded concession stands, press box, public address system, seating, and LED scoreboard.

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Category:2025 establishments in California

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