2026 FIFA World Cup Host City Guide: San Francisco Bay Area, California

In advance of this summer’s FIFA World Cup, SportsTravel is delving into each of the 11 U.S. cities that will host matches during the event. This year’s edition will be the largest ever, with 48 teams (up from 32), and it will be the first to be staged in three countries — Canada, Mexico and the United States — with 16 host cities in total.

Up next in our series: the Bay Area near San Francisco, California, which is welcoming FIFA World Cup matches for the second time in 2026, after Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto was a host venue in 1994. The Bay Area itself includes the major cities of Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose, as well as the counties that border the estuaries of San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay and Suisun Bay: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma and San Francisco. It is home to approximately 7.52 million people.

In 2026, World Cup visitors can expect a warm welcome by “The Bay.”

[Editor’s Note: Click here to read our past features on Philadelphia, Kansas City, Houston, Dallas, Miami, Atlanta, Boston, New York New Jersey, Seattle and Los Angeles]

[For the full list of confirmed base camps, click here.]

Stadium

Stadium: Levi’s Stadium / San Francisco Bay Area Stadium

Capacity: 71,000

Opened: 2014

W/C Hosting Experience: N/A (Stanford Stadium hosted in 1994)

Games: Six matches including:

• Qatar v Switzerland | Group B | Saturday, June 13

• Austria v Jordan | Group J | Tuesday, June 16

• Türkiye v Paraguay | Group D | Thursday, June 18

• Jordan v Algeria | Group J | Monday, June 22

• Paraguay v Australia | Group D | Thursday, June 25

• Match 81 | Round of 32 | Wednesday, July 1

Location

Costing an initial $1.2 billion  in its construction phase, followed by an additional $200 million investment for renovations in 2024, 12-year-old Levi’s Stadium is being renamed to San Francisco Bay Area Stadium during the 2026 FIFA World Cup due to FIFA’s policy against the naming of sponsorships at tournament venues. The stadium is named after Levi Strauss & Co., which purchased naming rights in 2013.

Located in Santa Clara, California, approximately 40 miles south of San Francisco, the stadium has served as the home venue for the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers since 2014.

Since its opening, Levi’s Stadium has hosted the Pac-12 Football Championship Game six times, as well as two Super Bowls (first in 2016 and then this past February), WWE’s WrestleMania 31 in 2015 and the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship.

Team Base Camps

The Australian Men’s National Soccer Team has selected the Oakland Roots/Soul Training Facility, located on Bay Farm Island in Alameda, California, as its official base camp training site for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Australia will compete in Group D with an opening match against Türkiye in Vancouver on June 13. They will then face the United States in Seattle on June 19 before ending their group stage campaign with a match against Paraguay at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in Santa Clara on June 25.

The Paraguayan Men’s National Soccer Team will utilize the Spartan Soccer Complex facilities at San José State University in San José for its team base camp training site during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Gustavo Alfaro’s men will compete in Group D at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, opening up against the U.S. Men’s National Team on June 12 in Los Angeles / Inglewood. The team will then head to San Francisco Bay Area to play Türkiye on June 19, before concluding its group-stage campaign against Australia at the same venue on June 25.

“We are thrilled that Australia and Paraguay have selected Bay Area venues as their official base camps for FIFA World Cup 2026,” said Bay Area Host Committee President and CEO Zaileen Janmohamed. “These selections reflect the caliber of our facilities and the strength of our partnerships across the region. This means real economic opportunity for local vendors, restaurants, and businesses while bringing international visitors who will experience the authentic character of our communities.

“This is what it looks like when a host region truly opens its doors. Our inclusion, our innovation, and our impact will be on full display as we welcome the world to the Bay Area.”

Fan Experiences and Activations

There will not be an official FIFA Fan Festival in San Francisco Bay Area during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, although the Bay Area Host Committee has announced free fan zone locations and watch parties across the Bay Area during the tournament.

These include:

San Francisco

• Thrive City at Chase Center
• China Basin Park at Mission Rock
• PIER 39
• Yerba Buena Lane
• The Midway
• The Crossing at East Cut

East Bay

• Alameda County Fair Grounds, Pleasanton
• Raimondi Park, Oakland
• Downtown Oakland
• Hoffmann Theater, Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek
• SS Red Oak Victory Historic Ship, Richmond
• East Brother Beer Company, Richmond

South Bay

• San Jose Earthquakes Soccer Celebration at San Pedro Square, San Jose
• Opening Weekend presented by the Bay Area Host Committee and SJ26
• The Row Cup, Santana Row, San Jose
• Civic Center Plaza, Milpitas
• Milpitas Community Center
• Morgan Hill
• Cityline Sunnyvale

North Bay

• Sausalito
• Napa Valley
• Santa Rosa

The Peninsula

• Courthouse Square, Redwood City
• Central Park, San Mateo
• Wheeler Parking Plaza, San Carlos
• Half Moon Bay
• Mountain View

Santa Cruz

• Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
• Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History

The distributed fan experience strategy aligns with the BAHC’s commitment to supporting local businesses, cities, and organizations. In addition to the Fan Zones, the Bay Area Host Committee is providing the 2026 Bay Area Public Screening Playbook – a comprehensive resource to help bars, restaurants, community groups, and businesses confidently and compliantly host their own FIFA World Cup viewing events. The playbook includes FIFA public-viewing guidelines, downloadable templates, and promotional materials.

Accommodation Supply

According to data and analytics provider AirDNA, Switzerland vs. Qatar on June 13 is the strongest match so far in San Francisco Bay Area, with short-term rental occupancy standing at 71 percent. That is followed by Türkiye vs. Paraguay on June 18 at 68 percent and Paraguay vs. Australia on June 27 at 62 percent.

Demand growth so far has been modest by World Cup standards, but against a market that was already performing well before the tournament. Much of that demand has been concentrated close to Levi’s Stadium, with Brisbane up 76 percent year-over-year in nightly demand and the Financial District up 71 percent.

Of any host city, San Francisco tells perhaps the most unusual supply story. Active listings are down 0.5 percent since June 2025, the only market in the tournament where inventory has actually contracted. New listings, meanwhile, have held at just 1.7 percent of active supply in April, with no meaningful surge at any point in the cycle.

The tournament is also pulling travel into the wider Bay Area region. Santa Cruz is up 14 percent year-over-year in June demand and Lake Tahoe is up 13 percent, as visitors extend their World Cup trips into broader Northern California travel.

Overall, the combination of shrinking supply and strong occupancy suggests the market is absorbing World Cup demand without needing to expand, showcasing a structural tightness that sets it apart from most other host cities.

In San Jose/Palo Alto, the occupancy is also highest for the Switzerland vs. Qatar game on June 13, meaning that almost eight in 10 short-term rentals are already filled.

In the meantime, average booked rates increased by 21 percent (from $167 to $203), while average available rates (the prices listings are currently marketed at) rose by 58 percent from $235 to $372.

Below is a map showing the year-over-year change in nightly demand for the area: +84 percent for Gilroy, +47 percent for Saratoga, and +42 percent for Cupertino.

As per Key Data, the chart below emphasizes that San Francisco is seeing a tiny increase in short-term rental reservations per property (11 percent), with only Los Angeles underperforming more compared to last year. However, unlike most other U.S. host cities, the average length of stay is increasing (by 15 percent YoY) rather than decreasing, in part due to travelers extending their stay in the wider Bay Area region.

On the hotel side, reservations per room are dropping by 21 percent on 2025 levels (more than any other U.S. host city), while average daily rates are not faring much better with a marginal 13 percent increase.

And, according to CoStar forecasts, San Francisco has the third-highest average daily rates in June ($241.01) behind only New York and Boston, though there is a sharp drop to $207.37 in July when there is one last game on July 1 in the Round-of-32. Compared to 2025 levels, the rates have not risen as highly as most other cities in the United States (+0.114 percent in June and +0.062 percent in July), despite the fact that San Francisco Bay Area did not host any games at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

‘Worth The Trip’

San Francisco and the greater Bay Area are no stranger to major sporting events, and in fact this year it becomes the first U.S. metro area to host both a Super Bowl and a men’s World Cup match in the same year.

“San Francisco is ready to welcome the World Cup,” said Anna Marie Presutti, president and CEO of the San Francisco Travel Association. “This tournament gives us the opportunity to show the world exactly what makes San Francisco one-of-a-kind, from the stunning scenery and iconic architecture to our incredible culinary and cultural experiences. We want everyone watching to see a city that is vibrant, welcoming, and absolutely worth the trip.”