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151K views 454 replies 60 participants last post by  pesto 
#1 ·
Could anyone share answers with me for the following:

Since Santa Clara is no done deal and since SF is still most interested in keeping the Niners in town, why have only the southern bay portions of the city (Hunters Pt, Candlestick Pt) been consdiered for a new stadium?

What about other sites, such as:

• China Basin, across the bridge from the ball park. Land is more expensive there and development is, of course, underway with UCSF. But could this be a possible stadium site? Could some of the Giants' lots be replaced with parking ramps and open up space for the 49ers with both teams sharing parking? With the public transportation (BART, Muni, Caltrain, ferries) this site would afford, you would have far few drivers...thus be more able to accomodate those that want to tail gate (a 49er issue).

• Treasure Island: the city wants a dramatic redevelopment of the site. Why not a stadium as part of the mix. The real negative here, of course, is Bay Bridge traffic and the merging on and off of YB. But let's consider that there are only 8 home games for NFL teams (plus a few exhibitions) and those games mainly occur on Sunday, when rush hour traffic is not an issue. If that were the only blocking point, I am sure that ways could be found to filter SF-YB-TI or EB-YB-TI traffic on those rare number of dates. Obviously bus service and ferry service (from the Ferry Bldg, Sausalito, Jack London Sq, etc.) could also get fans to the island.

• Kezar, back to the roots: all right, the worst suggestion of all. Nobody wants to see GGP covered with concrete. On the other hand, a significant part of the footprint is in place already with the existing stadium. And this fringe part of the park is less sylvan than its interior. Traffic issues, both public and private, would remain a huge issue...but again, this is on a Sunday and the time folks would be going to the game is not a heavy travel period.

I'm sure fault could be found with any or all of the above, what perhaps SF does have to think outside of the box on this one...especially if the box is a narrow one on the s.e. shore of the city.
 
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#172 ·
New design/rendering for Warriors Arena








. . . in addition to the 18,000 seat arena, the updated design includes:

- More than 100,000 square feet of mostly food-oriented retail space

- 3.2 acres of plazas and public space, including the plaza above and a 35,000 square-foot plaza along Third

- Approximately 580,000 square feet of office/biotech/lab space

- Approximately 950 parking spaces for autos in three concealed/underground levels, and

- 300 spaces of permanent valet parking for bikes

The Warriors hope to have the Mission Bay arena constructed in time for the tip off of the 2018-19 NBA season.
http://www.socketsite.com/archives/2014/12/redesigned-warriors-arena-fully-rendered-revealed.html
 
#173 ·
^^ I wonder how close that will be to at least one Muni bus or Metro line, and how many outside vendor parking lots will be made to accommodate a flood of cars going to and from that stadium?

And speaking of the Warriors, today is indeed a great day to be one since it is going through an unbelievable winning streak... 14 straight wins, 19-2 for the season. I truly hope it will continue! Perhaps a 70-win season is in order now, Steve Kerr?
 
#174 ·
Umm considering there is a Muni Metro line down 3rd street, and that the stadium is literally on 3rd street, I'd say pretty darn close. The only way it could be closer is if it sat on top of 3rd street. I highly doubt there will be any vendor parking lots since all of them are slated for redevelopment in the near future. There will be some ramps around Mission Bay that can help with some of the influx, but I am guessing most people will come via transit or walking. By the time they play their first game the Central Subway will have a direction connection to the other Muni lines and BART lines, so that should help a bit.
 
#176 ·
^^ I would be in support of that park... in fact, perhaps a transit center could be built there too to serve as a terminal for some Muni lines and make it into a real transit-oriented development. :yes:
 
#177 ·
Here's What San Francisco Would Look Like As the Olympic Host


Very tentative design

San Francisco's Olympic bid organizers have released the details of their $4.5 billion plan for the 2024 Summer Games, and they imagine a city where sporting events could be integrated almost seamlessly into existing structures and places. Cow Palace would play host to boxing matches, cyclists would take over Marina Green, and tennis matches would be held on Treasure Island. The biggest addition to the Bay Area would be a temporary stadium along the bay in Brisbane for track and field events. After several infamously expensive Olympics—think Beijing and Sochi—that have left cities with unused facilities, San Francisco's organizers have focused on cutting costs by using already existing or temporary facilities in their bid.

Even housing for the Olympics would be able to make use of existing buildings. The organizers would rent 2,000 units at the SF Shipyard to turn it into an Olympic Village during the event. Even Piers 30-32, the unused bayfront site that had been a potential home of the Warriors arena and a George Lucas museum, would get in on the action by playing host to the beach volleyball events. It would be turned into a park after the games. Pier 80, most recently used as Oracle's home base during the America's Cup, would get a temporary aquatics facility.

United States cities in competition for the 2024 games are San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. The US Olympic Committee will make its selection in early 2015.

[...]
 
#180 ·
Avaya stadium will have its grand opening on March 22nd.

http://www.mercurynews.com/sports/ci_27176132/san-jose-earthquakes-first-game-at-avaya-stadium

San Jose Earthquakes' first game at Avaya Stadium will be March 22 vs. the Chicago Fire

The Earthquakes will christen Avaya Stadium on March 22 in a home opener against former coach Frank Yallop's Chicago Fire, the team announced Friday.

The Quakes will begin a new era under coach Dominic Kinnear in a Sunday afternoon Major League Soccer game that will be televised by Fox Sports. The team also announced Friday it has sold more than 9,000 season tickets with a target of 10,000.

"It's almost like we're on a countdown," Earthquakes president Dave Kaval said of the firm date for the opener. "It kind of gives me goose bumps."

The $100 million, 18,000-seat stadium is expected to have some minor "test" events before the 2015 MLS opener.

Although San Jose and Chicago don't have a natural rivalry, the matchup has an interesting storyline with Kinnear serving as Yallop's assistant here in 2001-03. Kinnear took over the Quakes in 2004 when Yallop joined the Canadian national team.

...
I'll make sure to bring my camera so as to get good pictures of the stadium. I have yet to hear from the Earthquakes or VTA on the public transit plans for events.
 
#183 ·
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2015/01/12/heres-the-earthquakes-new-stadium-ohand-they.html



I have to admit those are some nice pictures. With the inaugural game coming up in a little over 2 months from now Avaya Stadium is almost done. It will be nice to see a soccer specific stadium in the Bay Area.
I got some photos of Avaya Stadium, time to get season tickets,









It would be really cool if they got to host a CONCACAF game, though I'm guessing they would do Levi's or Stanford in such a case for the national team.
 
#182 ·
Having sat in the hot sun at the new Levi's stadium, it's too bad the designers didn't use this planned design for the Downtown L.A. football stadium.

I believe it would be worthwhile for the 49ers ownership to retrofit Levi's Stadium with a similar overhang shade to protect its fans (who are paying dearly for their seat licenses) from the hot unrelenting sun during the July thru October period in Santa Clara. Sitting in the hot, direct sunlight is pretty unbearable as most fans realized. That is why so many fans milled around in the large protected palladium areas of the stadium instead of watching the game in their very hot & uncomfortable seats. Overall, I would give a very poor grade to the ownership of the 49ers for not taking the direct sunlight into account when building this stadium. At least in L.A., they seem to recognize that no one enjoys sitting for 3 hours in the hot direct California sunshine and as a result are building a nice overhang - screen to block out the sun.

I never thought I would hear "unrelenting sun" and "Santa Clara" in the same sentence. :lol: But, sure shade is nice.

Btw, Farmers is pretty much dead as a proposal.
 
#186 ·
This has been brewing for 2 years now, since it became obvious that Oakland had no interest in improving the worst stadium in the NFL (or MLB, for that matter). There are lots of unanswered questions, but making it clear that the Oakland effort so far has been a non-starter in everyone's eyes should help focus some public opinion.

I still believe that no public monies should be spent on subsidizing billionaires and their fans, but there is a potential cost to that position in that teams will be incented to move to better markets.
 
#187 · (Edited)
Ouch

Wolff Wants Surface Parking Over Garages and Development at Coliseum

Lew Wolff told Matthew Artz today that not only was he not interested in Coliseum City, he felt there isn’t enough space at the 120-acre Coliseum for development the City desires and the surface parking the team needs.
The only way it could work, Wolff said, would be to build multilevel parking garages, but that would leave fans waiting in long lines to exit the garages and begin their drives home.

‘Parking is a key issue for us,’ Wolff said. ‘We want surface parking surrounding the ballpark wherever we build it unless we’re in the heart of a downtown.’
P.S. – Would you believe that until last year, there were no major pro sports venues in the Bay Area with adjacent or nearby garages? It’s true. The Coliseum, which houses three teams, obviously has no garages. Neither does AT&T Park, which has surface parking across Mission Creek from the ballpark. SAP Center has multiple surface lots, including an elevated lot next to the arena that some might mistake for a garage. Candlestick Park had a small peninsula of parking next to it.

That changed when Levi’s Stadium opened last year. As part of the deal, an 1800-space garage was built directly opposite the stadium on Tasman Drive in Santa Clara. That garage has been notorious for excruciatingly long waits to leave, thanks to its single point of entry/exit. Wolff knows this because his Earthquakes opened Levi’s last summer, Quakes fans as guinea pigs. As we saw with the Sharks-Kings Stadium Series game over the weekend, parking and transportation is still a puzzle that hasn’t been figured out by the 49ers, Santa Clara, and VTA.

Other ballparks in suburban locales (Dodger Stadium, Angels Stadium) also don’t have garages. PETCO Park, Chase Field are downtown ballparks with attached garages that work well in concert with other nearby parking options. Coors Field has practically all surface lots available as parking. Downtown ballparks not only have garages or plenty of nearby parking infrastructure, they have the proper street grids and built-in traffic management needed to support large events. The Coliseum City plan is not set up like a new downtown with many ways in and out. It’s essentially the same plan as before, which has led to poor level of traffic service (LOS) grades in the Coliseum City EIR. It’s natural for Wolff to want to avoid the Levi’s situation.
 
#189 · (Edited)
Pre-opening at Avaya, Post 1:









Second new stadium in the Bay Area in a year, second new stadium opened with a game by the Earthquakes, both a win by the Earthquakes!

This stadium is really beautiful, and it shows the great experience that can be had by focusing on having a great experience for a smaller fanbase than an OK experience for a bigger fanbase.
 
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