Boxer Stadium

Full name	Matthew J. Boxer Stadium
Former names	Balboa Park Soccer Stadium (1953–1990s)
Location	San Francisco, California
Coordinates	37°43′33″N 122°26′41″W / 37.725788°N 122.444593°W / 37.725788; -122.444593
Owner	City and County of San Francisco
Operator	San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department
Capacity	3,500[1]
Field size	100 x 65 m
Surface	natural grass
Opened	1953
Tenants
El Farolito SC (NPSL) (2018–) San Francisco Dogfish (MLU) (2014) San Francisco Rush (PRO Rugby) (2016) USA Eagles (1996–2000)

Boxer Stadium (also known as Matthew J. Boxer Stadium) is a soccer stadium in San Francisco, California. Located in Balboa Park, the stadium has a capacity of 3,500. It is owned and operated by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department and is the only public soccer-specific stadium in San Francisco.^[2] Boxer Stadium is the primary home of the century-old San Francisco Soccer Football League.^[3]

History

Boxer Stadium opened September 27, 1953 as the Balboa Park Soccer Stadium at a cost of $150,000.^[4] The concrete bleachers were added later after the November 1953 Proposition G bond passage.^[5] The stadium was renamed in honor of the late SFSFL President, Matthew J. Boxer in the 1990s.

Boxer Stadium served as the main venue of the 1982 Gay Games.

Boxer Stadium hosted the California Rugby League Championship Game in 2021. East Palo Alto Razborbacks won the championship

Tenants

The stadium is home to the San Francisco Soccer Football League,^[6] the Golden Gate Women's Soccer League,^[7] and the San Francisco Unified School District CIF high school and middle school soccer.^[8][9]

For the 2013 season the San Francisco Stompers FC of the National Premier Soccer League played their home games at Boxer Stadium.^[10]

High school Lacrosse teams from SHC also use Boxer Stadium.^[11][12]

Rugby and Gaelic Athletic Association teams had used Boxer Stadium until the opening of Ray Sheeran Field on Treasure Island in 2005.^[13][14] In 2016, Boxer Stadium was the home pitch for the San Francisco Rush professional rugby team in the new PRO Rugby competition in the United States, however, the team was folded by the league after one season citing an unsuitable venue.^[15]

USA Internationals

Boxer Stadium has hosted 16 USA Eagles international rugby union matches. It was the unofficial home of the Eagles from 1996 to 2000, hosting 12 of their 17 test matches.^[16] The results are as follows:

Date	Opponents	Final score	Competition	Attendance
11 May 1996	Canada	19 – 12	Pacific Rim Rugby Championship	3,500[17]
29 June 1996	Hong Kong	42 – 23	Pacific Rim Rugby Championship	2,200[18]
6 July 1996	Japan	74 – 5	Pacific Rim Rugby Championship	2,500[19]
7 June 1997	Japan	51 – 29	Pacific Rim Rugby Championship	1,800[20]
14 June 1997	Hong Kong	17 – 14	Pacific Rim Rugby Championship	[21]
28 June 1997	Canada	11 – 22	Pacific Rim Rugby Championship	1,800[22]
12 July 1997	Wales	23 – 28	1997 Wales rugby union tour of North America	4,425[23]
13 June 1998	Japan	21 – 25	Pacific Rim Rugby Championship	1,800[24]
20 June 1998	Hong Kong	17 – 27	Pacific Rim Rugby Championship	1,300[25]
14 May 1999	Tonga	30 – 10	Pacific Rim Rugby Championship	4,600[26]
22 May 1999	Fiji	25 – 14	Pacific Rim Rugby Championship	3,950[27]
15 July 2000	Samoa	12 – 19	Pacific Rim Rugby Championship	[28]
16 June 2001	England	19 – 48	2001 England rugby union tour of North America	5,150[29][30]
22 June 2002	Scotland	23 – 65	2002 Scotland rugby union tour of North America	2,400[31]
15 August 2002	Uruguay	28 – 24	2003 Rugby World Cup qualifying	1,230[32]
17 May 2003	Japan	69 – 27	Super Powers Cup	1,852[33]

Updated 30 April 2021