All to know about the city’s pro soccer club

While Oakland sports fans have gotten used to seeing teams leave or threaten to leave their city, the Oakland Roots Sports Club says it’s dedicated not just to staying but to using its platform to support the local community.

Whether you’ve already been to a few games or are still wading into the waters of pro soccer cautiously, there’s a lot to know about the Oakland Roots that goes well beyond the games. “It’s somewhat complicated,” said Thomas Hodul, vice president of communications for the club, on its mission. But don’t worry, we’re breaking it all down. Keep reading for everything you need to know about the Oakland Roots.

Oakland Roots SC is a professional soccer team that plays in the United Soccer League, which has been around since 2011 and is considered the second division of professional soccer in the U.S. — a step below Major League Soccer. The league has clubs from coast to coast, with the Roots having in-state rivals from Sacramento, San Diego and Monterey.

An Oakland soccer team was just an idea back in 2017, said Hodul, that came from a group of people who wanted to build a club in their hometown. The Roots first game was played in August 2019, in an abbreviated season and as part of a lower-level league. “We sold out every game that first season,” said Hodul, at about 5,000 spectators per match.

Since moving into the higher-level USL, Oakland Roots SC has attracted higher profile investors, including ex-Oakland Raiders star Marshawn Lynch and has grown its footprint in the area, with a training facility by the Oakland Airport in Alameda and an office in Fruitvale. Under the club’s banner there’s also a non-professional women’s soccer team, the Oakland Soul, and a number of other outreach and mission-based programs.

The Oakland Roots players are fully professional — as opposed to semi-pro — said Hodul and playing for Roots is their full-time job. The team provides housing for its players via a partnership with the Atlas apartment complex in downtown Oakland. USL clubs don’t widely release salary data, but reporting by the Arizona Republic says the league’s star players can make “upwards of $100,000” a year.

The related women’s soccer team, Oakland Soul is considered “preprofessional,” according to Hodul. This distinction allows the team to use top-level college and high school players without them losing eligibility as amateur athletes. The Soul is part of the USLW league — the women’s branch of the USL — which is also considered the second division of American soccer for women, below the National Women’s Soccer League.

One of the first things you’ll notice when you visit the Oakland Roots website is an all-caps statement that reads, “We play on stolen land.” And this isn’t buried on some back page of the site, it’s on the homepage. Land acknowledgements are more common than ever these days but can still be viewed as a somewhat radical move for a pro sports team (the 49ers and Golden State Warriors don’t have one on their websites, for example).

With a move like that, the Oakland Roots are trying to prove they aren’t just about playing soccer. The club’s official mission is: “To harness the magic of Oakland and the power of sports as a force for social good,” said Hodul.

The Roots used to play at Laney College, but the college changed its turf to only work for football, said Hodul, forcing the club to change venues to fit with USL bylaws. Those requirements, which cover everything from capacity to field surface, means there are only so many available stadiums the team can play in around Oakland. The team chose CSU East Bay in Hayward as its next home venue, but that school will be renovating its stadium in November, leading the Roots to seek a longer-term plan.

Hodul said the club hopes to lease out and build a stadium in the parking lot of the Coliseum — but that wouldn’t be ready until 2025. So, as of this writing, where the Oakland Roots will play in 2024 is still up in the air.

For their part, the Oakland Soul plays at Merritt College, from May to July, typically on Sunday afternoons.

Oakland Roots soccer games happen from March through October, typically on Saturday nights, with playoffs in November. You can buy tickets for home games starting around $25 or you can become a member for season tickets and other perks. You can also watch Oakland Roots road games on KTVU Plus, which broadcasts over-the-air on channel 36 and is carried by AT&T, Comcast, DirecTV, Dish and Wave.

This story was edited by Hearst Newspapers Managing Editor Kristina Moy; you can contact her at kristina.moy@hearst.com.