Bay FC released renderings for the 2024 NWSL expansion team’s first-ever dedicated training facility on Wednesday, with award-winning design firm Olson Kundig overseeing the state-of-the-art complex’s development.
"In order to be a global sports franchise, the team needs its own home and dedicated facility," said Bay FC CEO Brady Stewart in the club's statement. "Tom Kundig and the Olson Kundig team understand our priority of player-centricity and also designed an inspirational and stunning space which reflects a sense of home for our players and staff."
"Olson Kundig are true innovators and are helping us future proof the facility and create something uniquely designed for our athletes that will nurture the whole person and unlock maximum potential."
Bay FC’s training facility, which is expected to open before the 2027 NWSL season, prioritizes a seamless experience for athletes, balancing private and communal spaces with an emphasis on wholistic player care.
Located at the center of the Bay on Treasure Island, a man-made island constructed in 1937, the complex will include three training fields and boasts sweeping views of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, North Bay, the Bay Bridge, and East Bay.
Even more, the center will provide resources to support long-term off-pitch success, including career development, education, and business training resources.
"Players commit to training together, building relationships, and working as a team every day," remarked Kundig. "The design acknowledges the complexity of that commitment — to the sport, the team, and the place that supports them both."
Bay FC joins expanding roster of teams with top training centers
As rising professionalization continues to shape women’s sports, top-of-the-line training centers have become a key way for clubs to stand out — even across the West Coast's crowded real estate market.
Bay FC's new 2025 WNBA neighbor Golden State and the NWSL's LA club Angel City have both recently embraced the dedicated facilities trend, while Portland’s 2026 WNBA expansion team announced last month that it will share a new $150 million sports performance complex with the NWSL’s Portland Thorns.
Dedicated facilities are increasingly becoming the status quo in the NWSL and WNBA, and Bay FC’s thoughtful design should be a selling point for top talent for years to come.
Portland is going all in on women's sports, with RAJ Sports — the ownership group behind both the NWSL's Thorns and Portland's incoming WNBA team — announcing the development of a new $150 million sports performance complex on Thursday.
The 12-acre dual-sport performance center will be the first-ever facility housing both a pro women's soccer squad and a pro women's basketball team.
Innovation and amenities lead Portland design
At 63,000 square feet, the incoming NWSL x WNBA training facility will feature two basketball courts, two soccer pitches, a 17,000-square-foot practice gym, a state-of-the-art strength training facility, and a laundry list of additional top-of-the-line amenities.
According to the Thorns' announcement, the center aims to "[elevate] the standard of athletic development by integrating cutting-edge training, advanced recovery, and holistic wellness with lifestyle elements specific to the needs of female athletes in a collaborative multi-team setting."
The wellness additions include recovery lounges and pools, hyperbaric therapy, red-light therapy, and a yoga and pilates room, plus access to a full-time chef and nutritionist via the center's kitchen and dining hall.
"This kind of high-performance training facility allows us to elevate every part of our game, becoming better and more well-rounded athletes," said Thorns forward Sophia Wilson (née Smith).
"Having a space designed specifically for female athletes gives us yet another leg up on the competition and will be vital to our future successes."
Portland joins other WNBA and NWSL teams building own facilities
Portland is just the latest in a wave of women's teams across top-tier US leagues breaking ground on dedicated performance facilities.
Earlier this week, WNBA newcomer Golden State unveiled their own custom-built Valkyries Performance Center. Last month, NWSL side Angel City cut the ribbon on their dedicated training facility.
RAJ Sports’ effort to continue the investment trend comes barely a year after their January 2024 purchase of the Thorns. That move was finalized a little over eight months before the WNBA accepted their expansion bid, making the Bhathal family — who also have a stake in the NBA's Sacramento Kings — the first-ever ownership group to oversee pro women's teams in two different sports.
On Monday, the WNBA announced that the expansion draft for incoming 2025 franchise the Golden State Valkyries will be held December 6th.
This will mark the league's first expansion draft since 2008, when the Atlanta Dream joined the league.
League sets draft limitations on 2025 expansion draft
Per the rules, the WNBA's 12 current teams can protect up to six players each, with all others available for selection. Those available for selection include all athletes each franchise holds rights to as of the end of the 2024 regular season. Accordingly, that pool spans both active players and those on suspended, retired, core, draft, or reserved lists.
Current teams must submit full roster lists showing all players — including those protected — to the league by a yet-to-be-set deadline. That deadline will likely fall around 10 days prior to the expansion draft.
In the expansion draft, the Valkyries will be able to pick a maximum of one player from each team. They can also choose only one 2024 unrestricted free agent.
Valkyries trade window could spur strategic WNBA moves
Perhaps most interestingly, once all roster lists are submitted, Golden State will be allotted a short pre-draft trade window to broker deals.
During this window, they can negotiate with teams to select, or purposefully not select, certain athletes. Golden State can also pick a player with the express purpose of trading them to another franchise.
Expect more WNBA roster shake-ups next season
The league has yet to announce if Golden State will be granted 2025 college draft picks, but has said the Valkyries will be eligible to participate in February’s free agency period.
With two new WNBA franchises in Toronto and Portland slated to begin play in 2026, Golden State's draft will likely be a preview of more expansion drafts to come next year.
While December 6th's proceedings will air live on ESPN, other aspects of the expansion draft will not be made public, including the current teams's protected players lists.
While WNBA expansion to Portland had been characterized as “close to a done deal” in early October, the league’s plan to add a 14th team in Oregon has been halted.
When the Oregonian published its initial report on the WNBA coming to Portland, sports columnist Bill Oram even pledged: “If I’m wrong about this one, I’ll eat my throwback Natalie Williams Portland Power jersey.”
Oram will have to eat his words, if not his jersey. The WNBA “has shelved” the Portland expansion, he reported Wednesday, as negotiations with entrepreneur Kirk Brown broke down late in the process.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert addressed a letter Wednesday to U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, in which she called Portland “an ideal destination for a WNBA franchise” but pointed to the planned renovation of the proposed arena as a sticking point.
“In light of the potential renovation of the Moda Center currently anticipated to take place during consecutive summers, consideration of a WNBA franchise for Portland will be deferred for now until the timing and scope of the arena improvements are settled,” Engelbert wrote.
When the WNBA announced its expansion to the San Francisco Bay Area in early October, discussions surrounding a Portland team were in the late stages, even reaching the league’s Board of Governors.
The Bay Area team, which is under the umbrella of the Golden State Warriors ownership group, will be the 13th team in the league. The team is set to start play in 2025.
While Engelbert would not comment on the progress with Portland at the time of the Bay Area team was announced, she did say: “Our goal is to have a 14th team by 2025.”
The WNBA is “likely” to add an expansion team in Portland, Oregon, in addition to one in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to multiple reports.
While the league is still in conversations over a second expansion team, Portland is the “likely” landing spot, ESPN reported. Discussions involving a Portland team have reached the league’s Board of Governors, as first reported by The Next.
The WNBA announced the Bay Area expansion team Thursday. The team is set to begin play in 2025, bringing the league to 13 teams overall.
“Our goal is to have a 14th team by 2025,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Thursday.
The WNBA had been teasing an impending expansion announcement on its social media accounts since Tuesday amid reports of a deal with the NBA’s Golden State Warriors to bring a franchise to the Bay Area. Before this, the WNBA had not expanded since adding the Atlanta Dream in 2008.
While WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert previously had said the league aimed to announce locations for up to two expansion teams by the end of 2022, she walked back that timeline last December. In May, she revealed that the league had narrowed its list of potential cities to 20.
In February, Engelbert attended an an event held at Portland women’s sports bar The Sports Bra to show community support for the addition of a WNBA team in the city.