Board committee backs 15-year permit allowing Golden City FC to invest $10 million in Kezar Stadium

The Government Audit and Oversight Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on June 5 voted to forward to the full Board a Recreation and Park Department permit that would allow Golden City Football Club to make $10 million in capital improvements at Kezar Stadium and play its home matches there under a 15-year permit with extension options.

The committee heard presentations from the permit sponsor, Supervisor Ahsha Safaí Mahmoud, Recreation and Park property manager Hank Heckel, and Golden City co-founder Mark Rohr. The permit would include a $10,000,000 investment in new turf, a scoreboard, seating and press-box upgrades, concessions, an improved sound system and Americans with Disabilities Act upgrades; per-game and hourly permit fees; reimbursement of city costs; and protections to preserve community and school uses of the stadium.

Committee members and Rec and Park staff said the arrangement preserves use of the stadium for school football, track meets and community users while adding professional games. The permit would allow Golden City to play 15–20 regular-season home games annually; any additional games would require department approval. Under the proposed timetable Golden City must play its first game by Sept. 30, 2027 and make at least 50% of the agreed improvements by that date, with the remainder due by the later of two years after the first game or Sept. 1, 2029. To exercise each five-year extension option the team must deposit $1,000,000 into a capital maintenance fund for lifecycle stadium maintenance.

Rec and Park representatives said the agreement explicitly preserves a minimum number of school events — including a guarantee of at least three games per year each for Mission High School and Sacred Heart, and protection of traditional events such as the Bruce-Mahoney game and the Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl — and restricts Golden City’s stadium practice use to light walkthroughs the day before games. The department also said the permit requires an annual operating plan addressing transportation and safety in consultation with MTA, Police and other agencies, and requires Golden City to reimburse city staffing and event costs.

Supervisor Mahmoud and department staff emphasized local economic benefits and workforce opportunities. Union representation at the hearing offered support and requested a joint labor-management approach to stadium work. Community groups and dozens of public commenters — including local youth, parents, coaches and business owners — spoke in favor of the club and the upgrades, citing the stadium’s age, poor drainage and the lack of a local professional men’s soccer club.

The committee also approved an amendment to the ticket-distribution clause. The amendment requires 38 tickets per home game to be provided to Rec and Park for distribution to “underserved youth and their families” (language changed from “underserved communities”), and that phrasing was accepted by the department and the committee. The committee voted unanimously in favor of the amendment and to forward the item to the full Board with a positive recommendation.

Members of the public and several supervisors asked how other user teams would be accommodated. Rec and Park said adult community teams would be limited under the permit to one adult-team game per year at Kezar but could be accommodated at other city facilities such as Boxer Stadium. Department staff acknowledged Boxer Stadium has drainage and field maintenance issues and said they would explore operational fixes (mowing schedules, temporary lighting, modular locker rooms) and potential capital improvements as budgets allow.

The permit term sheet and department presentation also require Golden City to reimburse the department for staffing and operational costs and permit the department to terminate the agreement if the club does not meet the improvement and timing obligations. Rec and Park said the city will own any capital improvements made to the stadium.

The committee vote to forward the permit to the full Board was recorded as three ayes (Vice Chair Danny Sauter; Member Sherrill; Chair Jackie Fielder). The item is scheduled for Board consideration on June 10, 2025.

Community reaction at the hearing was broadly supportive of the redevelopment plan, though several speakers and members raised concerns about impacts to existing users and the need for clearer plans for alternate practice facilities, locker rooms and parking/transportation planning. Rec and Park said those topics will be addressed in the team’s annual operating plan and in consultations with MTA and Police.