49ers leaving San Francisco! No Joke!

[Draconator]

Breaking news locally here in S.F.

 

To summize, 49ers owners John York and SF Mayor Gavin Newsome have confirmed that talks for a new 49ers stadium have broken off, and York informed Newsome that he will move the 49ers out of San Francisco.

 

Most likely location is Santa Clara, near San Jose, but Los Angeles has been mentioned as choice number 2 if Santa Clara doesn't work.

 

Will get links soon.

[Draconator]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n.../s220612S60.DTL

 

49ers tell San Francisco mayor they plan to move

 

By JOSH DUBOW, AP Sports Writer

 

Wednesday, November 8, 2006

(11-08) 22:30 PST San Francisco (AP) --

 

The San Francisco 49ers ended negotiations with the city about building a new stadium and plan to move to either Santa Clara or somewhere else in California, The Associated Press learned Wednesday night.

 

Owner John York notified Mayor Gavin Newsom of the team's decision earlier Wednesday, a city official close to the negotiations told The AP on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made.

 

Team spokesman Aaron Salkin declined to comment Wednesday night. Phone messages left on the office and cell phone of Lisa Lang, the 49ers vice president for communications, were not immediately returned.

 

The sides had been talking over the last few months about building a privately financed stadium at Candlestick Point that was going to be part of the city's bid for the 2016 summer Olympics.

 

The team's current lease at Candlestick runs through the 2008 season and the team holds three five-year options that could extend it through 2023.

 

The current stadium at Candlestick is one of the most run-down in the league, leading the team's desire to seek a new stadium with revenue-generation suites and luxury boxes. The plan to build a stadium also included public housing, retail and office space.

 

The city was not going to contribute any money to the stadium but was willing to possibly help with some of the infrastructure costs.

 

The 49ers headquarters are currently based in Santa Clara, located about 30 miles south of San Francisco.

 

Los Angeles and Anaheim also are seeking an NFL team. The mayors of the two cities met last month with new commissioner Roger Goodell to offer their competing plans to lure a team back to southern California.

 

Los Angeles city leaders want to build a new stadium within the walls of the historic Memorial Coliseum, featuring 200 luxury boxes and 15,000 club seats at a cost of $800 million.

 

Goodell also met with Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle about his city's plans to sell the NFL 53 acres at the below-market price of $50 million to build a new stadium adjacent to Angel Stadium.

 

The Los Angeles area hasn't had an NFL team since after the 1994 season when the Raiders returned to Oakland and the Anaheim-based Rams moved to St. Louis.

[daquixers_is_back]

Wow. Im speechless. I really cant believe that.

 

Edit: Reading further, it says Santa Clara is about 30 miles from San Fran. That would be like the Bills "moving" to Batavia. Not as much of a big deal as I originally thought.

[Draconator]

This is a letter posted by the owners on the 49ers website.

 

http://www.sf49ers.com/pressbox/news_detai...ction=PR%20News

 

Letter to 49ers Faithful

print

Dear 49ers Faithful,

 

We are writing to share a major update regarding our plans for a new stadium. The 49ers have the most loyal and faithful fans in the NFL, and the team’s new stadium design has been planned down to the smallest detail to give you the ultimate experience you deserve.

 

As you know, we have been working diligently with the City of San Francisco and our partner, Lennar Corporation, over the past year to study the feasibility of a stadium and mixed-use development at Candlestick Point. We hired the best experts and advisors in the business to help us achieve this goal, and spent millions of dollars on site studies, consultants and analysis.

 

Despite our best efforts, we have determined that the stadium and mixed-use development concept does not provide the game day experience we are determined to deliver to you. As a result, we have decided not to begin the public approval process at Candlestick Point.

 

The decision stemmed from the incompatible land requirements of the stadium and mixed-use development at the site. The project would have created massive new infrastructure and public transit needs, and the size of the development would take up much of the space you currently use for parking and tailgating, requiring the construction of one of the largest parking garages in the world. Additionally, the complexity of the approval process would have jeopardized our goal of opening the new stadium in time for the 2012 season.

 

As a result, we are now shifting our focus to the City of Santa Clara near the Great America amusement park and the Santa Clara Convention Center. We are excited about the possibilities Santa Clara offers for the 49ers Faithful, including:

 

• Several public transportation options that are already in operation, such as VTA light rail, Amtrak and ACE trains in addition to significant bus service;

• Plenty of existing parking within walking distance of the proposed stadium site; and

• Several six-to-eight-lane thoroughfares built to accommodate high traffic volumes, and easy access to multiple freeways.

 

There is a great deal of work to be done in Santa Clara, which will begin immediately. That said, there are some elements of this project that are firm. We are committed to:

 

• Our location: We will not leave the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers are part of the fabric of this region and we intend to stay right here where we belong.

• Our name: We will remain the San Francisco 49ers regardless of where in the Bay Area our stadium is located.

• Our timeline: We have an unwavering focus on our goal of delivering a new state-of-the-art NFL stadium to you by the start of the 2012 season.

• Our design of the interior of the stadium: The response we have received from the 49ers Faithful and stadium design experts has been overwhelmingly positive, and will remain key to our project as we shift our focus to Santa Clara.

 

We look forward to sharing additional details with you in the coming weeks about the stadium project as we move forward.

 

Best,

 

 

Denise and John York

[daquixers_is_back]

This is a letter posted by the owners on the 49ers website.

 

http://www.sf49ers.com/pressbox/news_detai...ction=PR%20News

 

Letter to 49ers Faithful

print

Dear 49ers Faithful,

 

We are writing to share a major update regarding our plans for a new stadium. The 49ers have the most loyal and faithful fans in the NFL, and the team’s new stadium design has been planned down to the smallest detail to give you the ultimate experience you deserve.

 

As you know, we have been working diligently with the City of San Francisco and our partner, Lennar Corporation, over the past year to study the feasibility of a stadium and mixed-use development at Candlestick Point. We hired the best experts and advisors in the business to help us achieve this goal, and spent millions of dollars on site studies, consultants and analysis.

 

Despite our best efforts, we have determined that the stadium and mixed-use development concept does not provide the game day experience we are determined to deliver to you. As a result, we have decided not to begin the public approval process at Candlestick Point.

 

The decision stemmed from the incompatible land requirements of the stadium and mixed-use development at the site. The project would have created massive new infrastructure and public transit needs, and the size of the development would take up much of the space you currently use for parking and tailgating, requiring the construction of one of the largest parking garages in the world. Additionally, the complexity of the approval process would have jeopardized our goal of opening the new stadium in time for the 2012 season.

 

As a result, we are now shifting our focus to the City of Santa Clara near the Great America amusement park and the Santa Clara Convention Center. We are excited about the possibilities Santa Clara offers for the 49ers Faithful, including:

 

• Several public transportation options that are already in operation, such as VTA light rail, Amtrak and ACE trains in addition to significant bus service;

• Plenty of existing parking within walking distance of the proposed stadium site; and

• Several six-to-eight-lane thoroughfares built to accommodate high traffic volumes, and easy access to multiple freeways.

 

There is a great deal of work to be done in Santa Clara, which will begin immediately. That said, there are some elements of this project that are firm. We are committed to:

 

• Our location: We will not leave the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers are part of the fabric of this region and we intend to stay right here where we belong.

• Our name: We will remain the San Francisco 49ers regardless of where in the Bay Area our stadium is located.

• Our timeline: We have an unwavering focus on our goal of delivering a new state-of-the-art NFL stadium to you by the start of the 2012 season.

• Our design of the interior of the stadium: The response we have received from the 49ers Faithful and stadium design experts has been overwhelmingly positive, and will remain key to our project as we shift our focus to Santa Clara.

 

We look forward to sharing additional details with you in the coming weeks about the stadium project as we move forward.

 

Best,

Denise and John York

830412[/snapback]

 

You forgot:

 

"P.S. Bills fans. You will probably get a new stadium somewhere around 55 years from now. .... ............................ HAHA!"

 

Thats better.

[Draconator]

Wow. Im speechless. I really cant believe that.

 

Edit: Reading further, it says Santa Clara is about 30 miles from San Fran. That would be like the Bills "moving" to Batavia. Not as much of a big deal as I originally thought.

830408[/snapback]

 

I get what you're saying about it not being far from San Fran, but the long term/hard core fans of the 49ers will not be too pleased. And there will be those who will go on a mini-offensive that will call for the York's to change the name to the Santa Clara 49ers, just because of the fact that they are not in San Francisco proper. This is happening with the A's, they're going to announce this upcoming Tuesday that they will be moving 22 miles to Fremont, CA. When they move, they will be called either the Fremont A's or the Silicon Valley A's.

[Draconator]

More in-depth article from the 49ers website.

 

http://www.sf49ers.com/pressbox/news_detai...ction=PR%20News

 

49ers Shift Focus of New Stadium Effort to City of Santa Clara

 

Team says fan experience comes first in evaluation of site, decides not to move forward with approval process at Candlestick Point

 

The San Francisco 49ers announced Wednesday that the team is shifting the focus of its efforts to build a new stadium from the City of San Francisco to the City of Santa Clara, where the team currently has its headquarters and training facility.

 

The announcement comes after a year of study by the team, its development partner, Lennar Corporation, and San Francisco officials to determine if Candlestick Point could support a new state-of-the-art NFL stadium and an adjacent major mixed-use development that would have played a key role in helping to privately finance the project. After careful deliberation, the team came to the conclusion that the project would not have offered the optimal game day experience it is seeking to create for fans, and has therefore decided not to move forward with the public approval process at Candlestick Point.

 

The decision stemmed from the incompatible land requirements of the stadium and mixed-use development at the site. The project would have created massive new infrastructure and public transit needs, and the size of the development would take up much of the space fans currently use for parking and tailgating, requiring the construction of one of the largest parking garages in the world. Additionally, the complexity of the approval process placed the team’s goal of opening the new stadium in time for the 2012 NFL season in jeopardy.

 

“We hired the best experts and advisors in the business and worked tirelessly with the City and Lennar to move forward with this project at Candlestick Point,” said team owner John York. “I want to commend Mayor Newsom and his staff and Lennar for their support and determination over the past year in this enormous undertaking. This decision is not a reflection of their efforts, but rather the geographic challenges of this site.”

 

As a result of today’s decision, the team will now concentrate its efforts on evaluating a new stadium in Santa Clara, near the Great America amusement park and the Santa Clara Convention Center. The location is served by several six-to-eight-lane thoroughfares built to accommodate high traffic volumes, which would offer easy access to fans from multiple freeways that connect throughout the Bay Area. In addition, there are many forms of public transportation nearby, including some that would reach fans as far away as Sacramento. “We’re excited to work with Santa Clara officials to discuss this project,” said York. “Based on our initial analysis, Santa Clara has strong potential to deliver the game day experience our fans deserve.”

 

York assured fans that despite the shift in focus to Santa Clara, the team would not consider changing its name under any circumstances. “Nothing will persuade us to change the name of the San Francisco 49ers, one of the most storied brands in the world of sports.”

 

Next, the team will meet with officials in Santa Clara to develop a set of shared goals for exploring the project, and begin discussions. “We’re proud to have the San Francisco 49ers as part of our community,” said Santa Clara Mayor Patricia Mahan. “We have been looking to expand our entertainment options in the Great America/Convention Center area for years, and this stadium can be a great addition. The 49ers have been clear that their goal is to put together a project that has no impact on the City’s general fund and no increase in taxes, and we are ready to give this project our full attention,” she added.

 

Today’s announcement is the culmination of the second attempt by the 49ers to develop a stadium project at Candlestick Point, the location of its current 46-year-old venue, Monster Park. The team first partnered with retail developer Mills Corporation in 1997 to explore the potential of a stadium project linked to an adjacent shopping mall, but Mills was unable to create a feasible plan. The team then partnered with Lennar in 2005 to take a fresh look at the project, resulting in a mixed-use development concept.

 

While Candlestick Point is visually appealing, its geographic boundaries made it challenging for this proposed project. Candlestick Point is surrounded by the San Francisco Bay on three sides, with a large hill near the area’s only highway that seals much of the land off from the rest of the City. The area also has limited and deteriorating road access that would have been overwhelmed by the stadium and the planned mixed-use development, which featured 6,500 new housing units. Engineers determined that hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure improvements were required to accommodate the project, possibly exceeding the cost of the proposed $600 to $800 million stadium.

 

Transportation difficulties in the area were heightened by the lack of access to many forms of public transit that are available in other parts of the City. Since the mixed-use development would have consumed the lots currently used as surface parking by fans on game days, the project required the construction of a massive multi-level garage. “We know that’s counter-intuitive for a public-transit-first City like San Francisco,” added York. Not only would this have snarled traffic as fans tried to enter and exit en masse, it would have also severely limited the fans’ ability to tailgate, which is a popular local tradition. Even with a garage of this size, many fans would still have had to park in satellite lots and be shuttled to the stadium. The conditions for fans at Candlestick Point would have been further exacerbated by the demolition of Monster Park and the gradual piecing together of the mixed-use development, placing fans in a construction zone for a decade.

 

The sum of these challenges was compounded by a lengthy approval process required before construction could begin, due to the site’s bay-front location and the need to breach the abutting Candlestick Point State Recreation Area to make room for the project. Of particular concern was the need to approve a complex land and trust exchange to permit the development of condominiums on property currently owned by California State Parks. In total, these hurdles made success at this site unrealistic in the team’s timeframe.

 

York said that while the team has done some preliminary evaluation in Santa Clara, there is a lot of work to be done to determine if the site will work for a new stadium. He added that the team will continue to use the design of the interior of the stadium that it shared with the public earlier this summer, and that it is committed to its goal of constructing a new state-of-the-art stadium for its fans by the start of the 2012 NFL season.

 

If the 49ers are unable to move forward with the project in Santa Clara, the team plans to continue its search for a location for a new stadium exclusively within the Bay Area. “The 49ers have called the Bay Area home for our entire 60 year history. We are a part of the fabric of this region, and we intend to stay right here where we belong,” concluded York.

[The Senator]

I'm glad to read in subsequent posts that they'll be staying in the Bay area, although closer to San Jose than SF. I suppose disgruntled fans could always drive across the Bay Bridge to Oakland for their NFL-fix - it's much closer than Santa Clara, and the Raiders could use the support! (The Raiders games are rarely sold out, from what I understand.)

 

As an aside, I'm increasingly shocked at the dollar amounts being tossed around for new stadia - I know the cost of land acquisition is much, much higher in Northern California than elsewhere, but $800 million????!!!! I know it's apples-to-oranges - and 35 years later - but didn't "The Ralph" get built for around $20 mil?

[pkwwjd]

The equivalent would not be the Bills moving to Batavia. It would be the Bills moving to Rochester. Or the Bears moving to Milwaukee.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

I would bet money that they do not move. This is all posturing to get a new stadium.

[Wacka]

It's the teams moving closer to the $.

People in other areas don't realize that San Jose is bigger than SF. San Jose is the 11th largest city in the country with about 1 million people. SF has about 750K and Oakland has about 300K.

[mcjeff215]

Breaking news locally here in S.F.

 

To summize, 49ers owners John York and SF Mayor Gavin Newsome have confirmed that talks for a new 49ers stadium have broken off, and York informed Newsome that he will move the 49ers out of San Francisco. 

 

Most likely location is Santa Clara, near San Jose, but Los Angeles has been mentioned as choice number 2 if Santa Clara doesn't work. 

 

Will get links soon.

830405[/snapback]

 

 

Bah, Santa Clara is like 45 minutes from San Franciso. Springville Bills, anyone?

[The Senator]

Bah, Santa Clara is like 45 minutes from San Franciso. Springville Bills, anyone?

830655[/snapback]

I'm guessing there are as many SF fans/season tix holders in the valley as in the city, so it may actually be an easier drive - even better if they can put it near a CalTrain station.

[Ramius]

Breaking news locally here in S.F.

 

To summize, 49ers owners John York and SF Mayor Gavin Newsome have confirmed that talks for a new 49ers stadium have broken off, and York informed Newsome that he will move the 49ers out of San Francisco. 

 

Most likely location is Santa Clara, near San Jose, but Los Angeles has been mentioned as choice number 2 if Santa Clara doesn't work. 

 

Will get links soon.

830405[/snapback]

 

If they move to santa clara, this matters about as much as our A's moving to Fremont. Its a move 20 miles down the road, but people feak, because they wont be within city limits anymore.

[VABills]

Bah, Santa Clara is like 45 minutes from San Franciso. Springville Bills, anyone?

830655[/snapback]

Screw that let's have it in Dunkirk.

[mead107]

charlton bills . put it in my back yard -- MEAD loves red wine stadium

[The Senator]

If they move to santa clara, this matters about as much as our A's moving to Fremont. Its a move 20 miles down the road, but people feak, because they wont be within city limits anymore.

830676[/snapback]

'xactly - freakin' Foxboro is closer to Providence, RI than Boston, ferchrissakes.

 

Besides, the weather is a helluva lot warmer in sunny Santa Clara than Candlestick Point!

[SF Bills Fan]

I think this is a power play to get Newsom and the board to get serious about the stadium talks. It's a heavy handed one at that. The Yorks are a complete joke and have mismanaged the team into the ground here. The best thing that could happen would be for them to give up the team. Larry Ellison expressed interest at one point. Give it up now, York! I'm more upset about the A's going to Fremont. I'd have a really hard time getting to A's games. I'm not a 49er fan, but if they leave the Bay Area, I'd be concerned.

[Bungee Jumper]

Bah, Santa Clara is like 45 minutes from San Franciso. Springville Bills, anyone?

830655[/snapback]

 

Or the Orchard Park Bills...

 

 

[mcjeff215]

I think this is a power play to get Newsom and the board to get serious about the stadium talks. It's a heavy handed one at that. The Yorks are a complete joke and have mismanaged the team into the ground here. The best thing that could happen would be for them to give up the team. Larry Ellison expressed interest at one point. Give it up now, York! I'm more upset about the A's going to Fremont. I'd have a really hard time getting to A's games.  I'm not a 49er fan, but if they leave the Bay Area, I'd be concerned.

830691[/snapback]

 

 

Yeah when I got to that whole "Santa Clara" part, I put it right in line with closing the Erie County parks to justify a tax increase.