Newest MLS Expansion Team San Diego FC to Play Home Games at the Beach
Days after being introduced as Major League Soccer’s newest expansion team, the San Diego Football Club announced the location of their team’s new field: the beach.
“We wanted the pitch to represent the lifestyle and culture of San Diego,” general manager Duke Slater told assembled media at a Tuesday news conference. “And nothing represents our city better than white sandy beaches and the sound of nearby waves.”
Rather than use precious taxpayer dollars to excavate and build a new site, the San Diego FC ownership team decided the best way to draw in new fans would be to have the home games take place where the people already were: Mission Beach off Interstate 10.
“We saved a lot by cutting the cost of building grandstands,” added Slater. “Everybody in San Diego keeps a couple beach chairs in their trunk anyways. We figure the fans can just unfold their Tommy Bahama’s around the edge of the pitch and call it good.”
Concessions will be sold at the dozens of taco trucks and shaved ice carts speckled up and down the Mission Beach boardwalk.
The announcement has been met with stern criticism league-wide. Many clubs are arguing that playing games on sand instead of traditional grass or artificial turf is an unfair advantage for the home team.
“Our guys will have to play barefoot,” LAFC coach Steve Cherise said of his club’s new in-state rivals. “Not to mention the additional conditioning we'll have to do to play on sand.”
SDFC ownership rebuked these concerns, with minority owner Morgan Bode adamantly contending that the new field is no more advantageous than any other professional sports field.
“The Red Sox have the Green Monster,” Bode pointed out. “NYCFC play in the Yankees outfield, and that’s the length and width of a bowling lane. I don’t see the issue here.”
Not only does the new field location save in construction, day-to-day maintenance will cost a fraction of what other teams spend. While most MLS teams pay a king's ransom to water, mow, and paint their fields, the SDFC field simply relies on Mother Nature “doin' her thang,” Bode said.
“The sand’s already there,” added Bode. “We’ll have a couple guys show up an hour before kickoff to drag their heels through the sand to make the goal line, penalty area, etc.”
Instead of the traditional soccer goals used throughout MLS, the new SDFC field will use the pre-existing volleyball nets at Mission Beach. Players will shoot at the open area beneath the volleyball net between the two posts.
“We’re very excited about our field and team,” concluded Slater. “We think it stays true to our San Diego beach bum roots. In fact, we are in talks to hire local boardwalk layabout Dylan “Sup Bud” Bede as our Strength and Conditioning coach. He’s really good at longboarding and I once saw him hack a sack 73 times in a row. That’s exactly the type of talent we want to build this organization around.”
All SDFC home games will take place between noon and 3 p.m., as the local recreational volleyball league already had the sand pits reserved every evening through 2026.
Let’s see what people are saying about this: