In nine short months, San Diego Wave FC made a new wave of their own as their inception into the NWSL was shorter than most expansion clubs. In their inaugural season in 2022, the Wave were not only the new kids on the block, but their journey as an expansion team was unusual compared to having 1-2 years to prepare for an NWSL season.
San Diego Wave FC reached the 2022 NWSL Playoffs, won the 2023 NWSL Shield and the 2024 NWSL ... [+]
Now in their third season, the Wave have lifted two trophies as they won the 2023 NWSL Shield, which is awarded to the team with the most wins of the regular season along with the 2024 NWSL Challenge Cup title.
Not only have they been successful on the field, but their impact as a club continues to grow through the rise of game attendance, partnership revenue, and their first-ever custom kit for the 2024 NWSL season reached six-figures in gross revenue on the day of the launch alone.
Wave Leads With Highest Average Attendance
The Wave began playing on a field with a 6,000 stadium capacity at Torero Stadium, and at the end of the 2022 season, they transitioned into their new home base, Snapdragon Stadium.
Although the Wave started out with smaller crowds due to playing at a college stadium, they now lead the league in average fan attendance with 20,194 fans per game.
“I honestly think that from the time we started playing at Torero to now, there’s nothing like it and that’s been a real pleasant surprise,” Wave FC President Jill Ellis told Forbes. “Sometimes what you want to do and what you can actually pull off are two different things so, that’s been a rewarding and satisfying experience to not just see us do well in the economics of sport, but also in the performance of sport and winning two trophies in the first couple of years.”
From their first game at Snapdragon Stadium on September 17, 2022, the Wave sold out the entire stadium as they hosted their SoCal rivals, Angel City FC with a record-breaking crowd of 32,000 fans.
With the power of the two California fanbases, the Wave held the highest NWSL regular season attendance record until it was broken once again for Megan Rapinoe’s farewell game with Seattle Reign FC (formerly OL Reign) at Lumen Field in October 2023 with 34,130 fans.
“Our 2022 season was such a great year and to be able to build off a good foundation is so important,” forward Makenzy Doniak told Forbes. “If you look at the community side of things, we’ve gotten more involved and have been able to interact with our fans more. We really just want to be a positive influence in the community because that ultimately is so important and our fans showing up every week with the best attendance records is so awesome and for us, it’s important for us to give back. On the field, Casey has really developed this team into something great and that has more potential in the years to come.”
Creating the Highest Selling Jersey in the NWSL
Along with fans attending games at Snapdragon, the Wave also made a major change in year three as they launched their first custom kit in club history.
As NWSL kits usually have a 2-3 year lead time, their first two seasons featured the basic stock kit from Nike
The new custom kits were representative of the classic San Diego sunsets of the horizon, and where the ocean meets the sky. On the single day of the launch, the Wave reached six-figures in gross revenue.
With an increase in merchandise, the Wave are also one of two teams to have four kit sponsors. The Wave are not only successful when it comes to the increase in investment from their sponsors, but are the top-selling jersey in the NWSL.
“Once we get someone to a game or to engage with us, 90% of our partners renew and then upgrade their partnership deals,” said Ellis. “To see the loyalty and the engagement from our partners has been really encouraging because it speaks to not just what is happening on the pitch and with what is happening in women’s sports, but it also speaks about the relationships we’re building here in San Diego. My staff do an incredible job of making our partners and fans feel that they’re not just an add on, but they are actually an integral part of the success and the drive of the club.”
San Diego Wave FC launched their first-ever custom kit for the 2024 NWSL season and reached ... [+]
When Ellis initially selected the palette for the Wave, she chose blues and pink to reflect the sunset, ocean, and the historical pieces near Mexico. However, this color palette was a bold choice as it strayed away from straightforward colors. At the time, former Wave FC owner Ron Burkle, who also previously owned the Pittsburgh Penguins, trusted Ellis to make the right decision for the club.
After two seasons with the stock kit, Ellis met with Nike to finalize their 2024 kits and although they had several options, the staff were collectively drawn to the same one.
“I was on the phone with Nike when I saw it and I told them, ‘That’s freaking cool.’ They had different options, but everyone on the call thought that this is the one that speaks to our team. We want those colors to be representative of who we are and it’s a kit that our players wear with pride and it’s part of our identity.”
From hosting 800 fans at their first-ever kit launch party to seeing people sport merch at the airport, the people of San Diego are all about the Wave.
As the 2022 NWSL Coach of the Year in her first season, Casey Stoney has led the Wave to an overall 21-10-13 (wins, draws, losses) record in their first two regular seasons.
Stoney and her family have also been embraced in the Wave community as their supporters group, San Diego Sirens, also created a new tradition known as ‘Blazer Night’ to honor Stoney’s iconic look on the sidelines.
“I think being a part of this community and fanbase is different,” said Stoney. “I’ve been a part of other big clubs and I’ve never ever felt so welcomed and so supported and there’s so much passion for the fans and for the team. The jersey launch felt so special because people are genuinely invested and care about the players and the team and there’s not many places I can go now in San Diego where people don’t wish me luck for the weekend, which is incredible. I do genuinely feel the love from this community and feel part of it now.”
Expanding Reach With Latin Fanbase
As for the Wave’s latest international signing, forward María Sánchez was acquired several weeks ago after signing the first largest contract in the NWSL with the Houston Dash.
Although the Wave were previously interested in signing her, they made it possible to sign Sánchez ahead of the NWSL trade window.
Newly signed San Diego Wave FC forward María Sánchez is celebrated by fans in Week 8 of the NWSL ... [+]
“I’ve had so many positive responses on a personal level, even from employees here,” said Ellis. “María is a fantastic player and a wonderful human being and as a staff, we talk about how representation is important. That’s been a wonderful response both internally and externally to María, we’ve had a lot of kit requests to customize her kit, specifically she gives us another opportunity to connect to our Latin fanbase in a very personal and in a very real way.”
Sánchez has made four appearances for the Wave and their next two games are set to face their fellow California rivals, Bay FC and Angel City FC.
