Ukrainian-American Dmitry Piterman, the president of Spanish club Alaves, has acquired a USL First Division franchise that will begin play in the 2007 season.
California Victory derives its nickname from Alaves' home city of Vitoria, the capital city of the province of Alava in the Basque country of Spain. The club will play out of Kezar Stadium near Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. It is the former home of the NFL San Francisco 49ers. Its current capacity is 10,000 seats.
The USL-1's other expansion team in 2007 will be the Carolina RailHawks. The Toronto Lynx is leaving the USL-1 for the PDL.