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Levi's Stadium

Coordinates: 37°24′12.099″N 121°58′13.24″W / 37.40336083°N 121.9703444°W / 37.40336083; -121.9703444
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Levi's Stadium
Levi's Stadium
Map
Location4900 Marie P DeBartolo Way
Santa Clara, CA 95054[1]
OwnerSanta Clara Stadium Authority
OperatorSanta Clara Stadium Authority
Executive suites166
Capacity68,500 (expandable to 75,000)
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Broke groundApril 19, 2012[2]
OpenedJuly 2014 (estimated)[2]
Construction cost$1.2 billion (est)[2]
ArchitectHNTB
Project managerHatheway Consulting LLC.[3]
Structural engineerMagnusson Klemencic Associates[4]
Services engineerWSP Flack + Kurtz, Inc.
General contractorTurner/Devcon JV[5][6]
Tenants
San Francisco 49ers (NFL) (2014-beyond)
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (NCAA) (2014-beyond)[7]
Website
www.levisstadium.com

Levi's Stadium is a football stadium that is currently under construction in Santa Clara, California, near California's Great America theme park and the Santa Clara Convention Center. The stadium will be the new home of the San Francisco 49ers and is planned for completion in time for the 2014 National Football League (NFL) season.

On June 8, 2010, voters in Santa Clara, a suburban city just northwest of San Jose, voted to adopt Measure J, which allows the City of Santa Clara to lease land, previously occupied by Great America theme park's overflow parking lot, to the 49ers Stadium Authority to construct a new football stadium, where the San Francisco 49ers would be the primary tenant. The necessary funds were secured on December 13, 2011, allowing construction to start in April 2012.[2]

The 49ers initially presented a plan on July 18, 2006, to construct a new 68,500-seat, open-air stadium to be built in time for the 2014 NFL season at Candlestick Point in San Francisco. Originally, part of the area surrounding the current 49ers venue, Candlestick 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.[8] 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 focused their attention on the Santa Clara stadium site, where the 49ers' administrative offices and training facility have been located since 1987.

The official groundbreaking took place on April 19, 2012.[2] On July 30, 2012, the first steel beams for the stadium were laid down.[9]

On October 16, 2012, it was announced that Levi's Stadium was one of two finalists to host Super Bowl L in February 2016 (the other stadium finalist being Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL).[10][11] On May 21, 2013, it was announced that the San Francisco Bay Area had defeated South Florida in a vote of NFL owners in its bid to host Super Bowl L.[12]

The team and Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl officials announced on November 20, 2012, that the annual NCAA bowl game will also move to the new stadium in 2014.[13]

Santa Clara stadium design proposal

When the stadium plans were still set in San Francisco, the new 68,500-seat stadium was to be built at Candlestick Point on land just southeast of Candlestick Park. The cost of the stadium would be $916 million. Lennar Corporation would build housing, retail, and office space around the stadium area.[14] 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.[15][dead link][failed verification] The architectural design would be reminiscent of San Francisco buildings.

The current proposed Santa Clara stadium is being designed by HNTB, an internationally renowned architecture firm focused on creating a multi-purpose stadium, with the fan experience and green technology as top priorities. Civil design is being designed by the non-minority firm Winzler & Kelly, recently bought by GHD.

Basic stadium features

The Santa Clara stadium will be an open stadium with a natural grass field. It will have a seating capacity of 68,500, expandable to approximately 75,000 to host major events like the Super Bowl and the FIFA World Cup. The seating design of the stadium puts approximately two‐thirds of the fans in the lower bowl. It will be one of the largest lower bowls in the entire NFL. The design features significantly improved accessibility and seating options for fans with special needs and disabilities when compared to Candlestick Park. The configuration is similar to Ford Field, home of the NFL's Detroit Lions, with all of the luxury suites on one side of the field, which puts the fans in the upper deck closer to the action.

As a multi-use facility, the stadium can be configured for special touring events including concerts, motocross events, and other community events. The stadium is also designed to meet the FIFA field geometry requirements for international soccer, which will allow it to host international friendly matches and major tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup. The stadium will also feature over 109,000 square feet (10,100 m2) of flexible premium meeting space in the club areas.[16]

Environmental sustainability

Stadium proponents and those who expect to profit from the construction of the stadium claim that "The stadium is currently one of the largest buildings registered with the US Green Building Council; it is also believed to be the first stadium that will have both a green roof and solar panels. The 49ers are exploring collaborative opportunities with the Environmental Protection Agency to explore environmentally friendly components including:[16]

  • Use of an outside commissioning agent to verify that energy‐related systems are installed, calibrated and performing in compliance with the project requirements;
  • Utilization of public transit nearby including VTA, ACE, Amtrak, with connection to a proposed future BART extension;
  • Construction of a green roof (27,000± sf), and photovoltaic panels (20,000± sf);
  • Use of paving materials, and roofing materials with a high solar reflectance index;
  • Use of recycled water for landscape irrigation, toilets and urinals along with water‐conserving fixtures;
  • No use of CFC‐based refrigerants in the HVAC systems. Systems will instead use refrigerants that minimize compounds that contribute to ozone depletion;
  • Installation of permanent monitoring systems that provide feedback on ventilation system performance;
  • Diversion, recycling and/or salvaging 75% of non‐hazardous construction waste; and
  • Use of controllable and programmable lighting control systems and thermal comfort control systems.

Naming rights

On May 8, 2013, the 49ers announced that San Francisco-based Levi Strauss & Co. purchased the naming rights to the new stadium. The naming rights deal calls for Levi's to pay $220.3 million to the city of Santa Clara and the 49ers over 20 years, with an option to extend the deal for another five years for around $75 million.[17]

Previous plans

The San Francisco 49ers have played at Candlestick Park since 1971. The stadium is a sentimental fan-favorite and has housed all 5 Super Bowl Championship teams. It is, however, the oldest unrenovated stadium in the NFL and is beginning to show its age. The 49ers have been pursuing a new stadium since 1997, when a plan for a stadium and a mall at Candlestick Point passed a public vote. When the plans failed to move forward, the San Francisco 49ers presented an alternative plan on July 18, 2006, to construct a new 68,500-seat, open air stadium as part of a mixed use development featuring housing, commercial and retail space. In November 2006 the team announced that plans for a new stadium at Candlestick Point was not feasible, “citing extensive costs for infrastructure, parking accommodations and other changes that would cost more than the stadium itself”.[18] The 49ers are now focused on making Santa Clara the home to their new stadium.

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. This was because owner Eddie DeBartolo, Jr. was facing legal troubles, which led him to surrender ownership of the team over to his sister Denise DeBartolo York and brother-in-law John York. Mills Corporation, the company tapped by the 49ers, was unable to put together a plan to successfully construct a new stadium for the team.[14] 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.

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.[19]

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 Candlestick 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.[20]

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 (64 km) south of San Francisco (and existing home to the team offices and training facility).

The sudden removal of the planned stadium forced the San Francisco Olympics bid group to cancel its proposal,[21] which engendered great anger not only from Mayor Newsom, but also from such 49ers legends as Joe Montana and Ronnie Lott who were part of the effort to bring the Olympics to the Bay Area. 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.[22][dead link] 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 (160 km) 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.[23]

Santa Clara city council negotiations

The Santa Clara stadium project has been in the works since 2007 with negotiations beginning in 2008. Two years have produced the following documents that were key to understanding the stadium deal that went before the voters of Santa Clara on June 8, 2010. All documents cited below are publicly available on the City of Santa Clara’s website.

  • Term Sheet: Detailed agreement between the city of Santa Clara and the San Francisco 49ers about the financing, construction, operation, and eventual demolition of the stadium. Key points include: no new or increased city taxes or costs to residents; 49ers responsible for construction and operation cost overruns; and the city will continue to own the land and receive rent payments back to its general fund from the stadium.[24]
  • 49ers Stadium Proposal: A PowerPoint presentation given to the City of Santa Clara April 24, 2007.[25]
  • Study: Economic and Fiscal Impacts of a New State-of-the-Art Stadium in Santa Clara4: This is a study conducted by Conventions Sports and Leisure (CSL). It highlights estimates of a new stadium’s economic and fiscal impact on the City of Santa Clara and the region including the creation of new jobs and new economic activity.[26]
  • Environmental Impact Report: This document is part of the state-mandated California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process. It researches in depth all possible environmental impacts the stadium may have.[27]

Most city council members in Santa Clara were extremely receptive to the possibility of a new stadium being constructed there for the 49ers. In 2009, the Santa Clara City Council and city employees began negotiating in earnest with the team, who presented the city with stadium plans. On June 2, 2009, by a 5 to 2 vote, the Santa Clara city council agreed to preliminary terms (as detailed in a term sheet[28]). The official term sheet states that the team's name will not change; the team will continue to be called the San Francisco 49ers even when the move to Santa Clara is complete.[29][30][dead link]

The campaign

Santa Clara stadium campaign

The Santa Clara stadium is currently under construction on a city-owned parking lot on Tasman Drive, located adjacent, to the north of California's Great America theme park and leased to Great America for overflow parking. In December 2009, the owner of the theme park filed a lawsuit to stop the project from proceeding.[31][dead link] However, the lawsuit was dismissed in court.

On December 15, 2009 the Santa Clara City Council voted 5 to 2 to withdraw their city-sponsored ballot measure[32] on the stadium issue in favor of a ballot initiative. The ballot initiative was voted on on June 8, 2010 and passed by 58% of Santa Clara voters.[33] The ballot measure was designated Measure J.[34] Santa Clara City Council members William Kennedy and Jamie McLeod had opposed the stadium project and worked (unsuccessfully) to get Measure J defeated.[35]

Measure J: June 8, 2010

Measure J is a binding, voter-initiated measure that was approved by voters in the City of Santa Clara. All documents cited below are publicly available on the City of Santa Clara’s official website.

  • Ballot Question: This is the question that was presented to voters:[36]
    • Shall the City of Santa Clara adopt Ordinance 17.20 leasing City property for a professional football stadium and other events; no use of City General or Enterprise funds for construction; no new taxes for residents for stadium; Redevelopment Agency funds capped for construction; private party pays all construction cost overruns; no City/Agency obligation for stadium operating/maintenance; private party payment of projected fair market rent; and additional funds for senior/youth/library/recreation to City’s General Fund?
  • Voter Ordinance: This city ordinance becomes law if Santa Clara voters approve Measure J.[37]

Election results

Measure J (June 8, 2010)
Choice Votes %
Referendum passed Yes 14,782 58.2
No 10,505 41.8
Total votes 25,133 100.00

Election results via the Santa Clara County Website.

Financing

In December 2011, the Santa Clara City Council voted for an agreement that calls for the city’s Stadium Authority to borrow $850,000,000 from Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and U.S. Bank. This will cover most of the construction costs, with the remainder to be made up via funding from the NFL, a hotel tax and city redevelopment funds. Construction is expected to begin soon after funding for the stadium has been confirmed. Interest, fees and terms for this loan have not been disclosed.[38][dead link][39] The $850,000,000 building loan, plus interest and fees will be assumed by the City's Stadium Authority, where additional interest and fees will be applied.

On February 2, 2012, NFL owners approved a loan to the 49ers of $200,000,000, for use in constructing the new stadium, and to be taken from a new G-4 stadium loan fund.[40][dead link] Terms of the loan were not specified, but under the previous G-3 plan, money was repaid directly into the league's account from the borrowing team's share of gate receipts from road games.

Oakland Raiders

There was a possibility that the 49ers' Bay Area rivals, the Oakland Raiders, might share the stadium. This would have been due to cost reasons, as both teams would split the costs of the stadium.[41] The 49ers[41] and Raiders[42] have publicly said it would be an option if possible, while NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is strongly in favor of the two sharing a stadium.[43] Fans of both teams have reacted negatively to the idea. Along with the New York metropolitan area (where both the New York Giants and New York Jets shared Giants Stadium from 1984–2009 and currently share its successor, MetLife Stadium, which both teams financed), the Bay Area is one of two NFL markets with two teams.

The 49ers and Raiders sharing a stadium would not be unprecedented, as the two shared Kezar Stadium for part of 1960.[44] It would also fulfill the late Raiders owner Al Davis' elusive goal of a new stadium, something he had strongly desired since moving the team from Los Angeles back to Oakland in 1995.[45] The Raiders, as it stands, play at O.co Coliseum and are the only NFL team still sharing its home field with a Major League Baseball team (except for the Buffalo Bills' annual game at Rogers Centre in Toronto); the Raiders' lease on the Coliseum expires after the 2013 season.[46]

In the wake of Davis' death, the possibility of the 49ers and Raiders sharing the stadium became a stronger possibility, as the Raiders would be more receptive to the idea. However, as of October 2011, the 49ers were far enough along on the stadium to have reportedly already sold over a quarter of the luxury suites, which means the Raiders would be forced to be secondary tenants.[47]

However, on October 16, 2012, Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis told reporters he had no plans to share the Santa Clara stadium with the 49ers. According to the report, discussions have remained open, although Davis wants to keep the team in Oakland, or a nearby site in Dublin, California.[48]

References

  1. ^ Rosenberg, Mike (March 12, 2013). "49ers stadium's new street address in Santa Clara named after team luminaries". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e Rosenberg, Mike (April 19, 2012). "49ers' Kick Off Move to Santa Clara With Far-From-Traditional Groundbreaking". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  3. ^ Fernandez, Lisa (February 15, 2012). "Santa Clara Approves $878 Million Construction Contract for Niners Stadium". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  4. ^ Magnusson Klemencic Associates - Projects - Sports
  5. ^ Young, Eric (October 7, 2011). "Niners' New Stadium Construction to Begin Spring 2012". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
  6. ^ "Local Plant Laying Strong Foundation For 49ers' New Stadium « CBS Sacramento". Sacramento.cbslocal.com. 2012-07-24. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
  7. ^ "New Santa Clara Stadium". New Santa Clara Stadium. 2012-11-20. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
  8. ^ Selna, Robert; Knight, Heather (November 10, 2006). "SAN FRANCISCO / New neighborhood in Hunters Point is Near Ready to Build / First 1,500 Homes at Old Shipyard Called 'Hilltop Community'". San Francisco Chronicle.
  9. ^ "San Francisco 49ers stadium beams rise from the dirt in Santa Clara - San Jose Mercury News". Mercurynews.com. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
  10. ^ "South Florida a finalist with S.F. for 50th Super Bowl". sun-sentinel.com. October 17, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  11. ^ "San Francisco a finalist to host 2016 or 2017 Super Bowl". sfgate.com. October 17, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  12. ^ Rosenthal, Gregg (May 21, 2013). "San Francisco awarded Super Bowl L; Houston lands LI". National Football League. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  13. ^ Bonagura, Kyle. "Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl will move to new 49ers stadium". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
  14. ^ a b Selna, Robert (July 18, 2006). "First Look at 49ers' Stadium Plan". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 1, 2007.
  15. ^ "Deluxe Stadium May Enrich 49ers". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved January 1, 2007.
  16. ^ a b Yes on J (April 20, 2010). "Stadium Design" (PDF). Santa Clara Stadium Facts. Retrieved April 20, 2010. [dead link]
  17. ^ Rosenberg, Mike (8 May 2013). "Levi's Stadium: 49ers' new Santa Clara home gets a name in $220 million deal". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  18. ^ "49ers to leave Candlestick, turn focus to Santa Clara". ESPN. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
  19. ^ "Newsom's Olympic Vision Sees New 49ers Stadium". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 1, 2007.
  20. ^ "Letter to 49ers Faithful". San Francisco 49ers. Retrieved January 1, 2007. [dead link]
  21. ^ Crumpacker, John (November 14, 2006). "'Shocked' S.F. Group Drops Bid for 2016 Olympics". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  22. ^ "Sen. Feinstein May Write 49ers Stadium Bill". CBS Broadcasting, Inc. Archived from the original on November 14, 2006. Retrieved January 1, 2007.
  23. ^ "Letter to 49ers Faithful - 49ers, Senator Alquist Announce Opposition to SB 49". San Francisco 49ers. Retrieved January 6, 2007. [dead link]
  24. ^ "49ers Santa Clara Stadium Term Sheet" (PDF). City of Santa Clara. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
  25. ^ "49ers Stadium Proposal" (PDF). City of Santa Clara. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
  26. ^ "Economic and Fiscal Impacts of a New State-of-the-Art Stadium in Santa Clara" (PDF). City of Santa Clara. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
  27. ^ "Environmental Impact Report" (PDF). City of Santa Clara. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
  28. ^ 49ers term sheet
  29. ^ "Niners show Santa Clara officials plans for new $937 million stadium". NFL.com. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
  30. ^ "000webhost.com - free web hosting provider". Supportourniners.com. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
  31. ^ Lawsuit could stall 49ers' Santa Clara stadium December 9, 2009; San Francisco Chronicle
  32. ^ Published December 16, 2009. "Santa Clara Backs 49ers-Sponsored Stadium Ballot Initiative - SportsBusiness Daily | SportsBusiness Journal | SportsBusiness Daily Global". SportsBusiness Daily. Retrieved 2013-02-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  33. ^ "Measure J: Lease of City Land - Santa Clara County, CA". Smartvoter.org. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
  34. ^ Mintz, Howard (March 19, 2010). "Santa Clara: 49er Stadium Proposal Named Measure J". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved April 1, 2010.[dead link]
  35. ^ Mintz, Howard (April 1, 2010). "49ers Stadium Campaign is David vs. Goliath Affair". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved April 1, 2010.[dead link]
  36. ^ "Measure J Ballot Question" (PDF). City of Santa Clara. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
  37. ^ "Measure J Voter Ordinance" (PDF). City of Santa Clara. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
  38. ^ "49ers, Santa Clara Secure Funding for New Stadium". Omaha World-Herald. December 3, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
  39. ^ Kegley, Scott (December 3, 2011). San Francisco 49ers http://blog.49ers.com/2011/12/03/new-santa-clara-stadium-update/. Retrieved December 3, 2011. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  40. ^ Mintz, Howard (February 3, 2012). "NFL Owners Approve $200 Million Loan for 49ers Stadium". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  41. ^ a b NFL May Bribe Raiders, 49ers Into Shotgun Wedding
  42. ^ Davis Doesn't Deny That Raiders Could Share Stadium With 49ers
  43. ^ Roger Goodell talks of stadium issues
  44. ^ "1960 Oakland Raiders Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
  45. ^ PRO FOOTBALL; Raiders Run a Reverse Play Back to Oakland
  46. ^ Campbell, Dave and John Krawczynski (May 7, 2012). Vikings in limbo and expansion not on NFL's radar. Associated Press. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  47. ^ Silver, Michael (2011-10-10). "Raiders' relocation scenarios take on new dynamic - NFL - Yahoo! Sports". Sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
  48. ^ "Oakland Raiders have no plans to share stadium with 49ers". NFL.com. Retrieved 2013-02-01.

Websites in opposition

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Levi's Stadium.
Preceded by
Candlestick Park
1971 – 2014
 Home of the San Francisco 49ers
2014 – Future 		Succeeded by
None
Preceded by Host of
Super Bowl L
2016 		Succeeded by

37°24′12.099″N 121°58′13.24″W / 37.40336083°N 121.9703444°W / 37.40336083; -121.9703444

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