Candlestick Park to be demolished as San Francisco 49ers move to new stadium in 2014 - NFL News
In 2014 the San Francisco 49ers will move to a new stadium being built in Santa Clara for a total of $ 1.2 billion. The move will leave the 49ers current home Candlestick Park without a purpose and authorities are considering demolishing the 52-year old
stadium.
The company in charge of the area around the stadium told the San Francisco Examiner
that with the franchise moving out there is little to no use for the 69,000 capacity stadium.
“If and when the 49ers abandon Candlestick, we will initiate discussions with The City to accelerate plans to demolish the stadium,”
The 49ers will leave behind some great memories when they move on to their new home after spending a total of 41-years at the stadium.
6000 new homes are expected to be constructed at the site of the stadium when it is demolished as part of the redevelopment of the area.
The loss of the 49ers will greatly impact the city’s Park and Recreation department who earned around $ 1.5 million each year from the stadium’s use and will now have to look for alternative sources of revenue in a time of economic regression.
The department’s general manager Phil Ginsburg was not to happy with the move of the 49ers to a new stadium.
“As our funding has declined, we have increasingly relied on earning revenue to support our parks and recreational programs. This year, we earned over $40 million from properties like Candlestick Park, Coit Tower and the Japanese Tea Garden. If the 49ers
leave, it will leave a significant hole to fill.”
Fans too were saddened to hear the news of the planned future demolition.
“It’s a place people grew up going to,” said Steven Davila, “It was windy and cold, but it showed the faithfulness of the fan base.”
San Francisco 49ers had a wonderful 2011-12 season as they turned around their fortunes. With head coach Jim Harbaugh arriving to take over the reins San Francisco developed one of the best defences in the league and ended the regular season with a 13-3
record and qualified for the playoffs for the first time in nine years.
The 49ers reached the National Football Conference (NFC) championship game after defeating the New Orleans Saints in the divisional round but fell out to the New York Giants.
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