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Frequently Asked Questions
The San Francisco 49ers encourage fans to contact the team with questions about our plans to build a new stadium. Here are some questions that fans like you recently asked:
Project Overview
Santa Clara
What is a feasibility study and how long will it take? What happens after the feasibility study? Will taxes be raised in Santa Clara in order to pay for the new stadium? How will the City of Santa Clara benefit from a new stadium? How will the stadium be financed? Who pays for cost overruns if the stadium project runs over budget? What will be the source of the City’s investment? Will a new stadium cause traffic jams on residential streets? Who will cover the cost of police services to direct traffic at the stadium on game days? Could the Super Bowl be held at the stadium if it is built in Santa Clara? How can I share my opinion about the project? I’m part of a community organization in Santa Clara. Would it be possible for a representative from the 49ers address my group about the team’s stadium plans? Doesn’t the Hetch Hetchy water pipeline run through the stadium site in Santa Clara? How far away is Santa Clara from San Francisco? Will a move from San Francisco to Santa Clara make it difficult for fans driving from the North Bay or East Bay on game day? How can fans in Sacramento access the stadium site in Santa Clara? San Francisco Is the team still exploring opportunities in the City of San Francisco, or focusing exclusively on the City of Santa Clara? Why didn’t the team move forward with plans for a new stadium and mixed-use development at Candlestick Point? Why not remodel the team’s current stadium and stay at Candlestick Point? Why not build a new stadium on the Embarcadero in San Francisco near AT&T Park? Information For Fans and Season Ticket Holders I have season tickets at Monster Park. Will I have an opportunity to purchase comparable seats at the new stadium? What is a Stadium Builders License (SBL)? Will all seats at the new stadium feature SBLs or will some be available for general admission? Will I have to pay to renew my SBLs once I purchase them? Where does the money raised by the sale of SBLs go? Will the move affect ticket prices at the new stadium? Exactly how many suites and club seats will the new stadium feature? Getting Involved Project Overview
Our current stadium has been in operation for 47 years, making it the oldest un-remodeled stadium in the NFL. The team is committed to playing in a new stadium that delivers the best possible game day experience for our fans.
How long will construction take? When will construction begin and when will the new stadium be ready?
Construction of the new stadium is expected to last 2.5 years. Our goal is to begin building the stadium in 2010 and kick off the 2012 season in our new home.
As with any major development project in the state of California, building a new stadium will require an extensive environmental review process before construction can begin. Once the team reaches a partnership agreement with a Bay Area city for the location of the stadium, the California mandated California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process will begin, resulting in the creation of a detailed environmental impact report. The report, which can take almost two years, is an important step to ensure any potential impact the stadium may have on the local community including traffic is identified and addressed before construction begins.
If the new stadium is built outside of the city of San Francisco, will the team still be called the “San Francisco 49ers”?
Yes! We will continue to be called the San Francisco 49ers regardless of where in the Bay Area a new stadium is built. It is common for professional sports teams to play in stadiums that are not in their namesake city. For example, the Dallas Cowboys play in Irving, Texas, and the Buffalo Bills play in Orchard Park, New York. In fact, there are even several teams in the NFL that play in a different state entirely, like the Washington Redskins, who play in Landover, Maryland, and the New York Jets and Giants, who play in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Santa Clara
In February, the team and the City of Santa Clara began a 6-month feasibility study, a process to closely and cooperatively review the details of a potential new stadium. The team is now meeting regularly with the City Manager’s office and has made public presentations at the Santa Clara City Council to evaluate a plan to finance the stadium without raising taxes or causing a negative impact on the City’s general fund. The team and the City will also evaluate a conceptual game day transportation plan and review the positive economic impact a new facility would have on the region. During this time, the team will also hold regular meetings in neighborhoods and at community organizations throughout the city to get feedback from local residents.
At the conclusion of the feasibility study, the team and the City of Santa Clara will determine if the project should move forward. If the project does move forward, a thorough environmental impact report will be developed, and construction would begin in 2010. The team’s goal is for the new stadium to open in time for the 2012 NFL season.
No, the team and the City of Santa Clara have both stated that any plan for a new stadium must not raise taxes for local residents or cause a negative impact to the City’s general fund.
The project would provide a tremendous economic boost to the City and the entire region. A recent economic impact report from Convention, Sports & Leisure, International shows that a new stadium would create over 2,200 jobs and have an economic impact of $249 million annually in the region, while generating over $12.3 million dollars in new annual tax revenue to the city, county and state. In addition, under the team’s proposed financing plan, the City would receive priority cash distributions to its general fund that could potentially total well over $1 million annually. The team is also proposing public ownership of the building so the City can manage its investment and make sure it has the maximum benefit to the local community. The new stadium will become a hub of community activities, hosting other sporting and entertainment events and expanding the city’s central entertainment district by linking to both the Santa Clara Convention Center and the Great America amusement park.
Under our proposed plan, over 80 percent of the cost of the $854 million stadium would be financed by the team, the NFL and from revenues generated by the stadium itself, such as naming rights and stadium sponsorships. 18.7 percent of the cost of the stadium ($160 million) would come from a capped equity investment by the City of Santa Clara. For more information about the team's finance plan click here.
Under our proposal, the team would cover all cost overruns for construction of the new stadium and its ongoing operations for 49ers games to protect the City’s general fund and taxpayers.
It is entirely up to the City to determine the source of its investment if it decides to partner with the team to build the new stadium in Santa Clara. The team and the City have been clear that any financing plan should not increase taxes for Santa Clara residents or cause a negative net impact for the City’s general fund.
We don’t believe so. The 49ers have worked with the Santa Clara Police Department and the transportation planning experts at DMJM Harris to develop a preliminary game day transportation plan that works for the community and our fans. The plan calls for police to restrict access on residential streets near the stadium and guide traffic to pre-assigned parking spaces. Stadium parking will not be permitted on any residential streets. The local roads that lead to the stadium are designed to accommodate 32,000 cars on an average weekday, and the team only anticipates 19,000 cars on game days. Additionally, due to the site’s close access to Amtrak, ACE, VTA Light Rail and bus service, we estimate that over 25% of fans will take public transit, significantly cutting down on traffic in the area. For more information about the team’s conceptual game-day transportation plan, click here.
The cost of police services would be paid by a portion of the gross revenue from the events, so the City of Santa Clara would not have to pay these costs. Even after factoring in the cost of police, the stadium is projected to have a positive cash flow to benefit the City’s general fund and create reserve funds for future improvements and operating expenses at the stadium.
We think Santa Clara would be a great place for the Super Bowl. Our stadium design calls for 68,000 seats, but we’re designing it to be expandable to host larger events like the Super Bowl. Due to the stadium’s close access to many hotels and airports, as well as its proximity to all of the terrific entertainment options available in the Bay Area, we think the stadium could host the Super Bowl frequently.
There are several ways you can share your opinion. One way is to contact us to tell us your opinion about our plans and ask questions. Additionally, the team will also host a series of neighborhood chats in homes throughout Santa Clara to talk to local residents about our plans and answer questions. If you live in Santa Clara and would like to participate in a neighborhood chat, please e-mail the team or call 408-345-2400. Also, the team hopes you can join us at a future Santa Clara City Council meeting. We want your input. In the coming months, representatives from the 49ers will speak before the Santa Clara City Council on several occasions to offer updates on the feasibility study and give the community an opportunity to share comments and ideas. Click here to find more information about the City Council’s agenda and procedures for addressing the council.
I’m part of a community organization in Santa Clara. Would it be possible for a representative from the 49ers address my group about the team’s stadium plans?
If your Santa Clara-based community organization would like a 30-minute presentation about the team's plans for a new stadium at a future meeting, please click here to send us an email. In your email, please provide contact information, a brief description of your organization and scheduling information about your next meeting or event. Due to the tremendous amount of speaking requests we receive, we may not be able to accommodate your organization's request at this time, but will do our best to arrange a time to speak at a future meeting. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to hearing from you.
Recently a newspaper published a misleading article about the Hetch Hetchy water pipeline that runs near the stadium site in Santa Clara. The pipeline is part of a system that represents a right-of-way for the City of San Francisco’s Public Utilities Commission.The article used deceptive phrasing and images that implied that the pipeline runs directly beneath the proposed location of the southern end zone of the stadium. This is incorrect. In reality, the pipeline is hundreds of feet away from the proposed southern tip of the stadium and would pose no impediment to the Hetch Hetchy right-of-way. Click here for more information.
Santa Clara is located approximately 37 miles south of our current stadium, Monster Park. Fans can access Santa Clara from highway 101, 237 or 880. Santa Clara is also easily accessible by bus, Caltrain, VTA light rail, Amtrak and ACE commuter train.
Will a move from San Francisco to Santa Clara make it difficult for fans driving from the North Bay or East Bay on game day?
One of the benefits of building a stadium in Santa Clara is that it is easily accessible from multiple highways including 101, 880 and 237. As a result, fans from throughout the Bay Area will be able to approach the stadium directly, without driving through residential streets. Additionally, fans living in the East Bay will no longer have to cross any bridges at all to get to the stadium. Click here to find out how to get to the proposed stadium location in Santa Clara from your house.
Fans from Sacramento will be able to access the stadium directly from the highway without having to cross the Bay Bridge by taking highway 80 to 880. Additionally, Amtrak currently offers train service on the Capitol Corridor line that connects Sacramento directly to Santa Clara and stops an easy ten minute walk away from the proposed stadium site. The 49ers plan to speak with representatives from Amtrak about options to expand service to the stadium on home games.
San Francisco
Is the team still exploring opportunities in the City of San Francisco, or focusing exclusively on the City of Santa Clara?
The 49ers’ primary focus is the City of Santa Clara, but we will continue to listen to proposals from officials in San Francisco for alternative plans as we move forward.
Why didn’t the team move forward with plans for a new stadium and mixed-use development at Candlestick Point?
After working closely with the City of San Francisco and a private development company for over a year, we determined that the project would not have provided the game day experience our fans deserve. Unfortunately, the stadium and mixed-use development had incompatible land requirements. The project would have created massive new infrastructure needs and the development would have replaced much of the space fans currently use for parking and tailgating. As a result, fans would have had to park in a massive 10,000+ car garage. Even with a garage of this size, many fans would still have had to park in far-away satellite lots and be shuttled to the stadium. Fans also would have been inconvenienced by the demolition of Monster Park and the gradual piecing together of the mixed-use development, which would have put fans in a construction zone for a decade.
The 49ers spent a considerable amount of time and effort evaluating a variety of remodel options for our current stadium. Ultimately, we decided that remodeling the stadium was not practical given the age and condition of the structure, along with the extensive amount of work required.
The Embarcadero in San Francisco is a great location for a baseball stadium, but unfortunately it does not work well for a football stadium due to space constraints and limited access to parking in the area.
Information for Fans and Season Ticket Holders
I have season tickets at Monster Park. Will I have an opportunity to purchase comparable seats at the new stadium?
We will determine a fair seniority-based system to allow current season ticket holders at Monster Park the opportunity to select seats at the new stadium before seats are available to the general public.
As part of the team’s financing proposal for a new stadium, season ticket holders will be asked to play a key role in building the best venue in the NFL. We recently announced that Stadium Builders Licenses (SBL) will be required in certain seating areas at the new stadium. These transferable licenses would give their holders the right to buy 49ers season tickets every year over the entire life of the new stadium, along with rights to tickets for other stadium special events. Existing 49ers ticket holders would be given the first opportunity to participate in this program and help support the construction of this new venue. We realize you likely have a lot of questions about the SBL program, but we must first reach a financing agreement with the City of Santa Clara or another Bay Area city before a comprehensive program can be developed. Thank you for your patience. We will be sure to share the latest information with you as we move forward.
We realize you likely have a lot of questions about the SBL program, but must first reach a financing agreement with the City of Santa Clara or another Bay Area city before a comprehensive SBL program can be developed and shared with our fans. Thank you for your patience. We will be sure to share the latest information with you as we move forward.
We envision a program where seats in some areas have SBLs and seats in other areas do not, in order to provide diverse pricing options for our fans. We realize you likely have a lot of questions about the SBL program, but must first reach a financing agreement with the City of Santa Clara or another Bay Area city before a comprehensive SBL program can be developed and shared with our fans.
No, this program will require a one-time fee for SBLs. In return, the holder would have the right to buy season tickets every year for the life of the building, and will also have the right to purchase tickets to other special events at the stadium. We realize you likely have a lot of questions about the SBL program and will be sure to share the latest information with you as we move forward. Thank you for your patience.
Revenue from the SBLs will be used exclusively to fund and maintain the stadium with no proceeds going to the team.
It is too soon to develop ticket prices as we will not play in the new stadium for several seasons, but we anticipate ticket prices to be on par with other NFL teams.
The new stadium will have roughly 180 suites and approximately 7,100 club seats.
Getting Involved
We appreciate your assistance! Please click here to find out several ways you can get involved and help the team.
Recently, a bill titled “SB 49” was introduced in the California state legislature, designed to prohibit the 49ers from partnering with a Bay Area city other than San Francisco to build a new stadium. If passed, the bill would essentially create a “no-49ers-stadium zone” throughout the region and make it virtually impossible for the team to stay in the Bay Area. Please join the team and oppose this legislation. Click here to send an email to the bill’s author to tell her why you oppose SB 49.
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