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Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close Image 2 of 17 USF'S Negoesco Field, San Francisco. PRO: Soccer specific stadium, modern facilities and turf field, has lighting for night television broadcasts, urban location. CON: Only seating for 3,000, limited parking and not as transit-friendly. PRO: Soccer specific stadium, modern facilities and turf field, has lighting for night television broadcasts, urban location. CON: Only seating for 3,000, limited parking and not as transit-friendly. less USF'S Negoesco Field, San Francisco. PRO: Soccer specific stadium, modern facilities and turf field, has lighting for night television broadcasts, urban location. CON: Only seating for 3,000, limited PRO: Soccer specific stadium, modern facilities and turf field, has lighting for night television broadcasts, urban location. CON: Only seating for 3,000, limited ... more Photo: Kurt Rogers / The Chronicle Image 3 of 17 Boxer Stadium, San Francisco PRO: soccer specific stadium, historic connection as the home of the San Francisco Soccer Football League, future home of SF's professional rugby team. CON: Not the most accessible location in San Francisco, outdated facilities (most were built in 1950's) Grandstand only seats 3,500. No lighting for night games. PRO: soccer specific stadium, historic connection as the home of the San Francisco Soccer Football League, future home of SF's professional rugby team. CON: Not the most accessible location in San Francisco, outdated facilities (most were built in 1950's) Grandstand only seats 3,500. No lighting for night games. less Boxer Stadium, San Francisco PRO: soccer specific stadium, historic connection as the home of the San Francisco Soccer Football League, future home of SF's professional rugby team. CON: Not the most PRO: soccer specific stadium, historic connection as the home of the San Francisco Soccer Football League, future home of SF's professional rugby team. CON: Not the most ... more Photo: Mike Gonos / Wikipedia Image 4 of 17 Cox Stadium, San Francisco. PRO: SFSU's multi-purpose stadium has a grass field and seating for 5,000 spectators. Used by SFSU's soccer teams. CON: Located on the edge of San Francisco, no close pubs for pre-game supporter gatherings. PRO: SFSU's multi-purpose stadium has a grass field and seating for 5,000 spectators. Used by SFSU's soccer teams. CON: Located on the edge of San Francisco, no close pubs for pre-game supporter gatherings. less Cox Stadium, San Francisco. PRO: SFSU's multi-purpose stadium has a grass field and seating for 5,000 spectators. Used by SFSU's soccer teams. CON: Located on the edge of San Francisco, no close pubs PRO: SFSU's multi-purpose stadium has a grass field and seating for 5,000 spectators. Used by SFSU's soccer teams. CON: Located on the edge of San Francisco, no close pubs ... more Photo: SFSU Image 5 of 17 Image 6 of 17 AT&T Park, San Francisco PRO: Would offer modern facilities, has hosted several soccer matches. CON: Too large a stadium for NASL needs, expensive to rent, would have to schedule games around the San Francisco Giants baseball schedule PRO: Would offer modern facilities, has hosted several soccer matches. CON: Too large a stadium for NASL needs, expensive to rent, would have to schedule games around the San Francisco Giants baseball schedule less AT&T Park, San Francisco PRO: Would offer modern facilities, has hosted several soccer matches. CON: Too large a stadium for NASL needs, expensive to rent, would have to schedule games around the San PRO: Would offer modern facilities, has hosted several soccer matches. CON: Too large a stadium for NASL needs, expensive to rent, would have to schedule games around the San ... more Photo: John Storey / Special to the Chronicle Image 7 of 17 Laney College Field, Oakland PRO: Located in the heart of downtown Oakland, Easy BART access, plenty of parking, modern locker room faciliites, new turf field, nearby bars for pre-game gatherings. CON: Lack of seating, field surrounded by track, turf field has football lines. PRO: Located in the heart of downtown Oakland, Easy BART access, plenty of parking, modern locker room faciliites, new turf field, nearby bars for pre-game gatherings. CON: Lack of seating, field surrounded by track, turf field has football lines. less Laney College Field, Oakland PRO: Located in the heart of downtown Oakland, Easy BART access, plenty of parking, modern locker room faciliites, new turf field, nearby bars for pre-game gatherings. CON: PRO: Located in the heart of downtown Oakland, Easy BART access, plenty of parking, modern locker room faciliites, new turf field, nearby bars for pre-game gatherings. CON: ... more Photo: Katy Raddatz / The Chronicle Image 8 of 17 Edwards Stadium, Berkeley PRO: Home of UC Berkeley soccer teams, large stadium capacity (22,000), excellent transit options and near BART, many close bars for pre-game gatherings. CON: Concrete seating, outdated locker room facilities, track around playing field. PRO: Home of UC Berkeley soccer teams, large stadium capacity (22,000), excellent transit options and near BART, many close bars for pre-game gatherings. CON: Concrete seating, outdated locker room facilities, track around playing field. less Edwards Stadium, Berkeley PRO: Home of UC Berkeley soccer teams, large stadium capacity (22,000), excellent transit options and near BART, many close bars for pre-game gatherings. CON: Concrete PRO: Home of UC Berkeley soccer teams, large stadium capacity (22,000), excellent transit options and near BART, many close bars for pre-game gatherings. CON: Concrete ... more Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle Image 9 of 17 Pioneer Stadium, Cal State Hayward East Bay PRO: Modern, recently renovated facilities. Professional soccer team FC Cal Pride played games there. Seating for 5,000. CON: Location is far away from Bay Area urban center, not mass transit friendly. PRO: Modern, recently renovated facilities. Professional soccer team FC Cal Pride played games there. Seating for 5,000. CON: Location is far away from Bay Area urban center, not mass transit friendly. less Pioneer Stadium, Cal State Hayward East Bay PRO: Modern, recently renovated facilities. Professional soccer team FC Cal Pride played games there. Seating for 5,000. CON: Location is far away from Bay PRO: Modern, recently renovated facilities. Professional soccer team FC Cal Pride played games there. Seating for 5,000. CON: Location is far away from Bay ... more Photo: BrokenSphere / Wikipedia Image 10 of 17 Image 11 of 17 Laird Q. Cagan Stadium, Palo Alto PRO: Home of Stanford soccer teams, modern facilities for team to use, lighting for night games on television, good transit options. CONS: Has only 1,500 permanent seats but has capacity for additional temporary bleachers on the eastside of the field. PRO: Home of Stanford soccer teams, modern facilities for team to use, lighting for night games on television, good transit options. CONS: Has only 1,500 permanent seats but has capacity for additional temporary bleachers on the eastside of the field. less Laird Q. Cagan Stadium, Palo Alto PRO: Home of Stanford soccer teams, modern facilities for team to use, lighting for night games on television, good transit options. CONS: Has only 1,500 permanent PRO: Home of Stanford soccer teams, modern facilities for team to use, lighting for night games on television, good transit options. CONS: Has only 1,500 permanent ... more Photo: Google Maps Image 12 of 17 <B>Stanford Stadium, Palo Alto</B> - PRO: State of the art facilities, natural grass field, ample parking and transit. CON: Stadium too large for needs of NASL soccer team, cost of rental. <B>Stanford Stadium, Palo Alto</B> - PRO: State of the art facilities, natural grass field, ample parking and transit. CON: Stadium too large for needs of NASL soccer team, cost of rental. Photo: Josh Edelson / AFP/Getty Images Image 13 of 17 Pictured: A view of a packed Kezar stadium, during St. Ignatius Sacred Heart Cathedral high school football game in 2015. Pictured: A view of a packed Kezar stadium, during St. Ignatius Sacred Heart Cathedral high school football game in 2015. Photo: Nathaniel Y. Downes / The Chronicle Image 14 of 17 A view of Laney College Football Field in Oakland, California in 2015. A view of Laney College Football Field in Oakland, California in 2015. Photo: Loren Elliott / The Chronicle Image 15 of 17 Image 16 of 17 In this file photo, members of the Cal soccer team stretch at Edwards Stadium in Berkeley In this file photo, members of the Cal soccer team stretch at Edwards Stadium in Berkeley Photo: Leah Millis / The Chronicle Image 17 of 17 Where could the Bay Area NASL team play? 1 / 17 Back to Gallery

It’s expected that the soccer startup Bay Area Pro Soccer will soon announce a new NASL professional soccer team that will begin playing in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2017.

Last week the organization released its logo, but it still has not announced the team’s name or its stadium location. With “SF” featuring prominently in the logo it is believed the team prefers to play in the city of San Francisco. However, Bay Area Pro Soccer’s CEO Brian Andrés Helmick posted on Twitter last month that they are exploring options throughout the Bay Area, including the east bay and the peninsula.

@OaklandNASL Thanks for the shared excitement and support. We're looking at various venues in the Bay Area including your side of the bay! — Brian Andrés Helmick (@brianhelmick) December 18, 2015

Where could a professional soccer team play in the Bay Area?

Currently in the NASL teams play in stadiums with a seating capacity between 5,000 (FC Edmonton) and 22,000 (Puerto Rico FC). Only 3 of the leagues 12 teams play in soccer-specific stadiums (Puerto Rico FC, Minnesota United, and the Carolina Rail Hawks). In 2015, the league’s teams averaged just under 6000 fans per game. The highest average attendance in the league was achieved by The Indy Eleven with 9,800 fans a game. The lowest average attendance was by FC Edmonton at 2,900 fans a game.

There are many facilities that could potentially host a professional soccer team in the region but each stadium has its pros and cons. Some may require additional financial investments to bring them up to the necessary standards of a professional sports team. In the slideshow above we take our best guess about the possible future home for the Bay Area’s NASL soccer team.

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