SANTA CLARA - Levi's Stadium (68,028)

[weava]

Originally Posted by Archbishop

Someone from San Francisco would know better than me, but I believe that the 49ers have their fanbase way more spread out over the Bay Area and Northern California region than the Raiders who are mostly just in Oakland. Also, like pesto said, Santa Clara is very close to San Jose which is about to top 1,000,000 people in the city, so it will open up the team to a whole new big city as well. I am not sure if BART extends to them though.

I woudn't consider that opening up a new city. Americans are huge NFL fans, many teams have statewide or regionwide fanbases. I'm assuming that the 9ers built a big fanbase that stretched well beyond SJ when they were winning superbowls. Build a winning team and people will drive 100s of miles to see them so moving 40 miles is nothing for only 8 home dates per year. I know my team,the KC chiefs has many of the fans come from 100-200 miles away to the games. The county with the largest number of KC season tickets holders is johnson in Kansas, its in another STATE.

[en1044]

Originally Posted by Tom Hughes

That would be akin to Everton or Liverpool FC moving to Manchester...... a complete non-starter on every level. Although I realise distances are measured on a different scale over there, I still wonder what is to happen with the current local fanbase who have kept the club/team/franchise alive for so many years..... or is it genuinely the case that the bulk of the fanbase is elsewhere? Is there an efficient mass transit system to take them to the new venue? Liverpool for instance have a national/international fanbase with far more fans living outside the city than in it, yet the highest concentration will always be in the city/metropolitan area itself, and it is these that will fill most of the seats most regularly. Does Santa Clara really posses a greater number and concentration of 49ers fans? I've been to SF many times, but can't profess to know much about its teams and their history etc.

It would be nothing like the moves you gave examples of. 40 miles really isnt a huge distance, especially in California. We dont have multiple teams in a city like London, for example. One city, one team. Because of that, everyone who lives in the city or the suburbs is going to be a fan of the team. The same group of people that have been supporting the 49ers all these years are going to be the same group of people that supports them now.

[RaiderATO]

Originally Posted by Tom Hughes

I still wonder what is to happen with the current local fanbase who have kept the club/team/franchise alive for so many years.....

They will drive 45 min. further south, or in many fans' cases, they'll drive 45 min. less and avoid SF altogether.

http://www.google.com/maps?f=d&sourc...=UTF8&t=h&z=10

It can cater to more of the bay area, and San Jose has more room to grow than SF does. Also, judging on stereotypes, the population of San Jose is more apt to attend NFL games than the SF citizenry.

[krudmonk]

Originally Posted by Archbishop

the Raiders who are mostly just in Oakland.

No.

[eMKay]

They are essentially moving from San Francisco to San Jose. That's like the N.Y. jets moving from Queens to Meadowlands. Or the Detroit Lions moving from Pontiac to....Detroit.

It's a non issue really. The Buffalo Bills have thousands of fans drive from Toronto and Rochester, I'm sure a team with the history the 49ers have draw from an even wider area.

[murina]

The 49ers fan base is probably at least 100 mile radius. I know several people who have 9er season tickets who live more than 100 miles from the current stadium. Come to think of it, I know a Hawaiian (lives on Oahu) who has 49ers season tickets!

There is precious little public transportation to the current stadium, but there is some public transportation close to the new site.

As far as 49er fans are concerned, this is like moving the stadium across the street. It is a totally different way of life than in the UK!

[goonzy]

Okay, as a natural San Franciscan born/raised and also a big "Niner" fan here is my take on the issue:

If the 49ers actually move to Santa Clara I will no longer consider myself a 49er fan. Why?
Because they will no longer be in San Francisco, they would actually be located in the Santa Clara Valley AKA Silicon Valley AKA San Jose AKA 408 AKA South Bay. The thing about the Bay Area is that it is split up into 4 regions. SF is not considered in the same region as Santa Clara and thats what the big fuss is about. But whats the SF region you ask? Well, greater SF consist of the City, the Peninsula and Marin in local term.
Greater San Francisco region: AKA West Bay AKA Golden Gate AKA 415/650

If the 49er stadium was located within this region. There would not be a big deal.

[rantanamo]

welcome to the rest of the US 9er fans. Cowboys haven't played in Dallas since the 60s. Giants haven't played in NY since the 70s. Skins in D.C. since the 80s. Dolphins in Miami since the 80s. This isn't a dense country. Fanbases are more than just the city they rep. You may not consider it your region in the same way Fort Worthians try to seperate themselves from Dallas, but its your region and there may be more fans of your team there than in what you consider your region.

[en1044]

I have spent many summers with family in San Francisco and have seen many games at Candlestick, and I share goonzy's opinion on this.

Moving this team away from SF just doesnt seem right. Santa Clara is pretty far away from Candlestick, enough to warrant taking the "San Francisco" name off of the team. It just cant be there. The Bay Area has many different identities, and Santa Clara is just not one I can associate with the 49ers. Will fans still show up in droves? Of course. But if they move, they have to change the name.

Its not the same as in Dallas, NY, DC or Miami. They all play either right outside the city or in an area where you cant really tell where one city ends and the other begins. Santa Clara is very much removed from San Francisco.

Its much more than a "move across the street."

[weava]

Originally Posted by en1044

Moving this team away from SF just doesnt seem right. Santa Clara is pretty far away from Candlestick, enough to warrant taking the "San Francisco" name off of the team. It just cant be there. The Bay Area has many different identities, and Santa Clara is just not one I can associate with the 49ers. Will fans still show up in droves? Of course. But if they move, they have to change the name.

Its not the same as in Dallas, NY, DC or Miami. They all play either right outside the city or in an area where you cant really tell where one city ends and the other begins. Santa Clara is very much removed from San Francisco.

Its much more than a "move across the street."

Ok, Santa Clara, Home of the SAN FRANSICO BAY 49ers, there is your solution. It would be no different than the Tampa Bay Rays being in St. Pete, across the bay from the city of Tampa.

[rantanamo]

Originally Posted by en1044

I have spent many summers with family in San Francisco and have seen many games at Candlestick, and I share goonzy's opinion on this.

Moving this team away from SF just doesnt seem right. Santa Clara is pretty far away from Candlestick, enough to warrant taking the "San Francisco" name off of the team. It just cant be there. The Bay Area has many different identities, and Santa Clara is just not one I can associate with the 49ers. Will fans still show up in droves? Of course. But if they move, they have to change the name.

Its not the same as in Dallas, NY, DC or Miami. They all play either right outside the city or in an area where you cant really tell where one city ends and the other begins. Santa Clara is very much removed from San Francisco.

Its much more than a "move across the street."

Do you really think most 49er fans are in San Francisco. This isn't about city identity. The team isn't moving to Sacramento. Like I said, welcome to the rest of the country.

And its not the same as Dallas? You're talking about identity. You realize people in Fort Worth don't associate themselves as part of DFW to the point they feel they have an entirely different culture? That's why its not about city identity.

[dfwabel]

Originally Posted by Archbishop

Someone from San Francisco would know better than me, but I believe that the 49ers have their fanbase way more spread out over the Bay Area and Northern California region than the Raiders who are mostly just in Oakland. Also, like pesto said, Santa Clara is very close to San Jose which is about to top 1,000,000 people in the city, so it will open up the team to a whole new big city as well. I am not sure if BART extends to them though.

In general, you cannot tell where Santa Clara ends and San Jose begins. As a city, there is more population in Santa Clara/San Jose than San Francisco. Plus, the proposed stadium is adjacent to the team's training complex where they have been since the days of Bill Walsh.

As for BART, it does not extend to Santa Clara County. It is proposed for it to do so, but it will be connected via the East Bay (Alameda County) and would be completed by 2018 at the earliest. The route would not go to the stadium, but would connect with VTA (Santa Clara County's light rail) in Milpitas.

Since the NFL's G3 funding is dried up, the story on the previous page is correct as the team needs to find private financing to move forward.

[en1044]

Originally Posted by rantanamo

Do you really think most 49er fans are in San Francisco. This isn't about city identity. The team isn't moving to Sacramento. Like I said, welcome to the rest of the country.

And its not the same as Dallas? You're talking about identity. You realize people in Fort Worth don't associate themselves as part of DFW to the point they feel they have an entirely different culture? That's why its not about city identity.

No its nothing like Dallas. Cowboys Stadium is what? 20 miles outside Dallas? And smack dab in the middle of a huge metropolitan area?

Santa Clara is almost 50 miles outside San Francisco. And because of the geographic limitations you have to drive down the peninsula to get there. I've already been talking with my uncle who lives in San Mateo and he is NOT happy with this move at all, just like most people there. I guess I could consider myself an unofficial resident of the area too, and Im not happy either. Santa Clara is so far away from a lot of people that the whole idea is just dumb. And there are a lot of people in the city and just south who are HUGE 49er fans.

Its about more than city identity. Its convenience too.

[en1044]

Originally Posted by weava

Ok, Santa Clara, Home of the SAN FRANSICO BAY 49ers, there is your solution. It would be no different than the Tampa Bay Rays being in St. Pete, across the bay from the city of Tampa.

Yeah but St Pete is still in the same general area. Santa Clara is not.

[pesto]

I think a few points need to be clarified. The 49ers have less than 10 percent of their fan base in SF and about 25 percent in Santa Clara County. The average current ticket holder will have a shorter commute to the game AFTER the move (per the 49ers) and of course many new South Bay fans will buy tickets. The simple fact is that the SF demographic is not sports oriented and hasn’t been for some years. It may sound odd, but they are moving into an area of stronger fan interest and loyalty and sheer quantity.

If you are from outside the area, you get the impression that SF is the big city in the Bay Area because it has the concentration of tourist attractions. But San Jose is actually larger in people and the great growth is going on well to the East and South. The huge corporations are in San Mateo County and especially Santa Clara County, not in SF.

It is not accurate to say that Santa Clara is not 49er country. The 49ers have had their headquarters and practice facilities in Santa Clara (adjacent to the new stadium) for many years. They are part of the same metropolitan areas as SF, SJ, Oakland and many other cities and more central to that area than SF.

The move greatly simplifies and consolidates operations for them and allows them to stop having to deal with a very difficult city (SF) to get things done. Their old stadium was not built for football and was generally considered in the bottom 2 or 3 in the NFL but SF had put off doing anything for more than 10 years. SF voters would not have supported any kind of city assistance for a 49er stadium.

[krudmonk]

They should be the California 49ers anyway. Nobody panned for gold in San Francisco. It's like the Trail Blazers playing in Kansas City. That was just a pit stop.

[pesto]

The name is going to be an entertaining discussion for some time since die-hard SF people want to "take-back" the name if they move and die-hard SJ people want "San Jose" or "South Bay" or some such (I think the Guadalupe River is the city limit, so the stadium is about 1/4 mile outside the SJ city limits). I think most people want to keep "SF" in the name but there are the Golden State Warriors, who chose to stay generic.

The renderings of the stadium do not use "SF" or "San Francisco" in any visible location, or at least none that I saw, so it looks like the 49ers are trying to play this neutral for the time being.

[MS20]

You know whats great? Symmetrical stadiums. The lopsided feel of that design hurts my head. A nice bowl stadium would be great

[rantanamo]

Originally Posted by MS20

You know whats great? Symmetrical stadiums. The lopsided feel of that design hurts my head. A nice bowl stadium would be great

you know what's a little boring? Symmetrical stadiums.

[MS20]

Originally Posted by rantanamo

you know what's a little boring? Symmetrical stadiums.

Nah.

This stadium is hideous. Dont build a stadium if its not going to be symmetric, or worse making it look like its half completed