New 49ers Stadium
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This article or section is about a planned or proposed stadium. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the stadium approaches. |
| New 49ers Stadium (Working Title) |
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|---|---|
| Location | San Francisco Bay Area (Santa Clara, California) |
| Opened | 2012 (estimated) |
| Owner | TBA |
| Operator | San Francisco 49ers |
| Surface | Grass |
| Tenants | San Francisco 49ers (NFL) (2012- (expected) |
| Capacity | 68,000 |
The San Francisco 49ers presented a plan on July 18, 2006 to construct a new 68,000-seat, open air stadium to be built in time for the 2012 NFL Season at Candlestick Point in San Francisco. Originally, part of the area surrounding the current 49ers venue, Monster Park, was to be zoned for retail space and housing; the new 49ers stadium was to be combined with such elements, bringing much-needed attractions to the historically blighted neighborhood of Hunters Point. Currently, after failed attempts by the 49ers and the city of San Francisco to come to an agreement on the location of the new stadium, the 49ers ownership is looking at other places in the Bay Area, notably Santa Clara, where the 49ers' offices and training facility are located.
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[edit] Stadium design
When the stadium plans were still set in San Francisco, the new 68,000 seat stadium was to be built at Candlestick Point on land just southeast of Monster Park. The cost of the stadium would be $600 to $800 million. Lennar Corporation was responsible for building housing, retail, and office space around the stadium area.[1] The stadium would be stocked with 150 luxury suites, 7,500 premium club seats, and an increased amount of seats lower and closer to the field, called "bowl seating," potentially raising the 49ers franchise value up as much as $250 million and offering at least $300 million in advertising and concession deals, the majority of which from paid corporate naming.[2] The architectural design would be reminiscent of that of San Francisco buildings and offer a view of the San Francisco skyline to the north.
[edit] Planning
The 49ers have called their current stadium, Monster Park (originally named Candlestick Park) home since 1971. Monster Park is now one of the oldest stadiums used by a team in the National Football League, leaving the 49ers franchise value nearly half that of NFL teams with newer stadiums, such as the Washington Redskins. The aging Monster Park has experienced structural issues including mold in the locker and restrooms, corrosion of the scoreboards, and crippled escalators. 49ers ownership has concluded since 1997 that such problems were not only destroying the value of the 49ers franchise, but also posing a safety hazard to fans and players.[3]
[edit] The 1997 plan
San Francisco voters in 1997 approved $100 million in city spending to build a new stadium and an attached shopping mall at Candlestick Point. However, even after voter approval to grant economic help for the project, the stadium was not constructed as the project failed to get off the ground. Mills Corporation, the company tapped by the 49ers, was unable to put together a plan to successfully construct a new stadium for the team.[4] NFL owners had gone as far as awarding the new stadium the rights to host Super Bowl XXXVII. When the stadium plans stalled, the game went to Qualcomm Stadium instead.
For years, the city and team ownership were embattled over attempts to gain funding and a green-light for construction of a new stadium. None of these attempts proved to be successful.
[edit] The 2006 plan
The city of San Francisco received a new incentive to get a new stadium built. Mayor Gavin Newsom wanted to bring the 2016 Summer Olympics to the city, and a new stadium would sweeten the city's proposal for selection by the United States Olympic Committee as the official US submission to the IOC. The announcement came in November 2006, with the new 49ers stadium as the centerpiece of an Olympics bid, and the construction of the Olympic village would be converted into low-income housing after the games were over.[5]
The project planning did not get off to a good start, however, with contention between the 49ers and the city of San Francisco over viable locations for the new stadium. Initially, the idea was to build a stadium in the parking lot of Monster Park and later demolish the aging stadium. Team ownership feared that construction of the village and the stadium would severely limit the amount of land available in Candlestick Point, creating a parking problem for fans and increasing traffic along the only two-lane road that links the stadium to the freeway. Moreover, with residents in the low-income housing by 2016, traffic would be increased indefinitely, further damaging the already-limited methods of transportation to the park.[6]
With San Francisco slow to come up with better locations for the stadium or ways to circumvent the problems posed by a construction at Candlestick Point, team owners Denise DeBartolo York and John York announced on November 9, 2006, that the 49ers were shifting its efforts to create a new stadium to the city of Santa Clara, approximately 40 miles south of San Francisco. In recent years, an increased percentage of fans were concentrated in the South Bay, and with the 49ers training facility already in Santa Clara, a stadium move would center all 49ers operations in the same city. The stadium would be located in a lot across the street from the training facility, nearby Great America theme park, and close to many transportation links, including a freeway, bus lines, and rail service.[7] Earlier in the 2006 football season, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell gave an unofficial green-light, calling it a "no-brainer" to construct the stadium at the Santa Clara site, citing all the benefits stated above.[8]
The sudden removal of the planned stadium forced the San Francisco Olympics bid group to cancel its proposal[9], which engendered great anger from Mayor Newsom. In addition, many fans were outraged at the suggestion to move the 49ers out of the city that it had shared history with for decades. The Yorks insisted that the legacy of the franchise would be respected in the sense that the 49ers would not be renamed nor moved out of the Bay Area. This was met with much opposition from Mayor Newsom and Senator Dianne Feinstein (who was mayor of San Francisco between 1978 and 1988); the senator stated that the team should be unable to use the San Francisco name if its operations were not based in the city.[10] On January 3, 2007, California State Senator Carole Migden introduced a bill, entitled SB49, that would bar the 49ers from building a new stadium within a 100 mile radius of San Francisco, if they were to leave the city. The 49ers organization announced its strong opposition to the legislation and retorted that passing such a bill would only encourage the team to move out of the Bay Area altogether.[11]
Despite the political troubles, the 49ers are still in talks with San Francisco of finding an acceptable location, but with advantageous transportation links in the Santa Clara location and a unanimous decision[12] by the Santa Clara city council on January 9, 2007 to conduct a six-month feasibility study, the city of San Francisco has limited time left to come up with alternatives.[13]
[edit] External links
- Official Site of the San Francisco 49ers - ST Stadium Tour
- Stadiums of the NFL - 49ers Stadium - San Francisco 49ers
- Santa Clara Plays Fair - Community Needs not Corporate Welfare
- Santa Clara for Niners!
- Support Our Niners
- Stadium Facts
- Not With My Money
[edit] References
- ^ First look at 49ers' stadium plan. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
- ^ Deluxe Stadium May Enrich 49ers. San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
- ^ First look at 49ers' stadium plan. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
- ^ First look at 49ers' stadium plan. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
- ^ Newsom's Olympic vision sees new 49ers stadium. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
- ^ Letter to 49ers Faithful. San Francisco 49ers. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
- ^ Letter to 49ers Faithful. San Francisco 49ers. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
- ^ 49ers' co-owner not ruling out stadium in San Francisco. Contra Costa Times. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
- ^ 'Shocked' S.F. group drops bid for 2016 Olympics. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved on 2007-01-14.
- ^ Sen. Feinstein May Write 49ers Stadium Bill. CBS Broadcasting, Inc.. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
- ^ Letter to 49ers Faithful - 49ers, Senator Alquist Announce Opposition to SB 49. San Francisco 49ers. Retrieved on 2007-01-06.
- ^ "49ers, Santa Clara to study stadium". Retrieved on 2007-01-14.
- ^ 49ers' co-owner not ruling out stadium in San Francisco. Contra Costa Times. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
| Preceded by Candlestick Park 1971–present |
Home of the San Francisco 49ers Planned 2012 |
Succeeded by none |
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