PayPal Park in San Jose, California, will host the 2025 NWSL Championship on Nov. 22.
The NWSL has played its championship match at a predetermined location since 2015. PayPal Park emerged as the clear favorite from the start of the league's bidding process, sources told ESPN.
PayPal Park is home to the NWSL's Bay FC, which is competing in its second season in the league, and MLS' San Jose Earthquakes. The stadium was built for the Earthquakes and opened in 2015.
PayPal Park holds 18,000 fans and has hosted numerous United States men's and women's national team games, most recently a 2-1 USWNT loss to Brazil in April in front of a sellout crowd.
The USMNT will open its 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup campaign at PayPal Park on Sunday.
The stadium has hosted other major events, including the 2016 MLS All-Star Game, which featured Arsenal.
"We're thrilled to bring the NWSL Championship back to the West Coast and to a region with as rich a history in women's soccer as the Bay Area," NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said.
"This community's passion for the game, combined with the excitement surrounding one of our newest teams in Bay FC, makes it the perfect setting to celebrate the league's top talent and crown our next champion.
"We are grateful to our partners at Bay FC, the San Jose Earthquakes, the San Jose Sports Authority and the Bay Area Host Committee for their commitment and collaboration in bringing this event to life, and we look forward to delivering an unforgettable experience for players, fans and the entire soccer community in November."
November's NWSL Championship will mark the second time in three seasons that the league's final has been played in California. San Diego's Snapdragon Stadium hosted the game in 2023 in front of 25,011 fans, which set a new attendance record for a league final.
This season, Bay FC's average attendance is just under 13,400 fans per game, while the Earthquakes average just under 15,500 fans per game.
Bay FC will attempt to break the NWSL regular-season attendance record on Aug. 23 when it hosts the Washington Spirit at Oracle Park, the home of MLB's San Francisco Giants. The current record was set last year in Chicago, when 35,038 fans turned up for an NWSL game at Wrigley Field.
Oracle Park holds around 40,000 fans. Bay FC announced last week that it had sold 25,000 tickets.
PayPal Park is located about 45 miles southeast of San Francisco, a city that the NWSL might utilize for other events related to its championship match as the league tries to grow the event commercially.
Berman has consistently said that the league will stick with the predetermined site format.
At last year's final in Kansas City, she said the event takes "weeks and months of preparation," referencing why the NFL holds the Super Bowl at a predetermined site. Most NWSL teams do not control their venues, making scheduling a logistical challenge.
"For where we are right now in our business and our business goals, we'll continue to have a neutral site for the foreseeable future," Berman said in November.
NWSL Championship hosting history:
2013: Sahlen's Stadium, Rochester, New York (Portland Thorns 2-0 Wester New York Flash)
2014: Starfire Sports Stadium, Tukwila, Washington (FC Kansas City 2-1 Seattle Reign FC)
2015: Providence Park, Portland, Oregon (FC Kansas City 1-0 Seattle Reign FC)
2016: BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, Texas (Western New York Flash 2-2 Washington Spirit; 3-2 Flash in penalty kicks)
2017: Orlando City Stadium, Orlando, Florida (Portland Thorns 1-0 North Carolina Courage)
2018: Providence Park, Portland, Oregon (North Carolina Courage 3-0 Portland Thorns)
2019: WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary, North Carolina (North Carolina Courage 4-0 Chicago Red Stars)
2020: Season canceled (COVID-19)
2021: Lynn Family Stadium, Louisville, Kentucky (Washington Spirit 2-1 Chicago Red Stars)
2022: Audi Field, Washington, D.C. (Portland Thorns 2-0 Kansas City Current)
2023: Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego, California (NJ/NY Gotham FC 2-1 OL Reign)
2024: CPKC Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri (Orlando Pride 1-0 Washington Spirit)
2025: PayPal Park, San Jose, California