As I drunkenly stumbled down the cement stairs to my puke-orange seat at the last 49ers home game, there was only one thing on my mind: finding a place to set down my ice-cold beer so I could scarf down my garlic fries. Plopping myself down, I reached in front of me to set my beer in the cup holder, except, to my horror, there wasn’t one.
Blasphemy!
Until that point, I was unsure of the 49ers’ attempts to build a new stadium in Santa Clara, citing nostalgia of times past as my rational for keeping the decrepit 49-year-old Candlestick Park. But in light of my recent incident and the 49ers fairly recent announcement that they’re fully committed to setting up shop in Santa Clara, consider me off the fence.
No longer should 49er fans have to put up with dirt parking lots, swirling winds, accommodations fit for the 1960’s and waiting in traffic for hours after the game just to exit the stadium.
Instead, Niners fans deserve a modern fan experience, accompanied by easy access to freeways, up-to-date luxury boxes, and yes, even cup holders.
But how much will this cost taxpayers in a time when the California state government can’t even balance its own budget? Not a whole lot.
According to the 49ers official stadium website, 90 percent of stadium costs will be financed by the team, the NFL and corporate sponsors. The remaining $79 million would be covered by the city of Santa Clara with no new taxes to residents.
In this economic climate, you can’t ask for much more.
Besides being a benefit to fans, a new stadium is essential to keeping the 49ers competitive on the field.
In 2008, the 49ers ranked 30th in total team revenue, $126 million short of the team with the most revenue, the Washington Redskins who opened a new stadium in 1997. With more revenue, teams like the Redskins are able to spend more money on coaches, team facilities and free agents.
And no, renovating Candlestick Park or building a new stadium at Hunter’s Point is not a sensible solution. The 49ers and its fans will still be left with the same problems currently plaguing them.
Where will the team play while renovations take place? How will the stadium access issues be fixed? There’s still the issue of having a stadium near one of San Francisco’s worst neighborhoods in Hunter’s Point, another issue entirely.
The Stick is like a Band-Aid. If you try to take it off slowly, it’s going to hurt even more. It’s better just to rip it off all at once and cut your loses. Now let’s rip this baby off, we’ll do it together on the count of three.
One… two… three…
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