A Review of Levi's Stadium

Jason Lowbridge        

Professor McKeever

English 1020

25 July 2013

Word Count: 1910

A Review of Levi’s Stadium

            Measure J was passed, by voters in Santa Clara, California, on June 8, 2010. Measure J was an issue placed on the ballot that allowed the City of Santa Clara to lease land to the San Francisco 49ers Stadium Authority for construction of a new NFL football stadium. It passed on June 8, 2010. Funding for the stadium was secured on December 13, 2011, groundbreaking took place on April 19, 2012 and the first steel beam was laid almost one year ago, on July 30, 2012. (Rosenberg) The new home of the San Francisco 49ers is expected to be completed in time for the beginning of the 2014 NFL season. Although, at the present time, the stadium is incomplete and, despite the disappointment of it not being located in the City of San Francisco, review of the design plans, technology plans and the environment friendliness of the stadium, will make the new home of the San Francisco 49ers quite unique, impressive and a stadium like no other.

            In July of 2006, the San Francisco 49ers presented an initial stadium plan to construct a 68,500 seat stadium, with 9,000 club seats, open-air stadium in San Francisco. The stadium was to be built at Candlestick Point and would convert their current stadium (Candlestick Park) into housing and retail space. The city of San Francisco was hopeful that it would improve the blighted area known as Hunters Point. (Mercury News) Unfortunately, the City of San Francisco and the 49ers were unable to come to any agreement and the 49ers were forced to turn their focus to the City of Santa Clara.  

            While the City of Santa Clara is beautiful, and the 49ers currently have their offices and training camp located there, there are some major negatives to moving the stadium there. Obviously one disadvantage is the economic impact that the City of San Francisco will suffer. The City of San Francisco will lose millions of dollars in revenue, with the division of Parks and Recreation taking the biggest hit. They are the department that operates Candlestick Park. “ The 49ers generate an estimated $9.6 million in gross revenue and roughly $4.1 million in direct and indirect tax revenue for the city” (Lee). Additionally, “no other team has their home stadium located further away from their home city than the 49ers, at 38.3 miles” (Rosenberg). Gone are the scenic views of Alcatraz, Bayview Hill, San Francisco Bay, and the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. No longer will fans and viewers be able to watch the beauty of the fog rolling in while watching the game. The move by the 49ers will be a big loss for the City of San Francisco. Clearly not the best move by the city, not only for fiscal reasons, but the lure of potential development that goes along with the renovation of the waterfront. A larger effort should have been made by the city officials to keep the team in the actual city.

            Despite the disappointment that the stadium will not actually be located in the City of San Francisco, that may be the one true negative plaguing the new home of the 49ers. The design of the new stadium is an impressive open and airy stadium, with a natural grass playing field, which is embraced by the stunning and scenic views of Silicon Valley.  Its seating capacity is relatively small for an NFL stadium, seating 68,500.The bonus is it can be expanded to seat almost 75,000 people for larger events. The lower bowl of the stadium will hold almost two-thirds of all the fans at the game, making it one of the largest bowls in the NFL (San Francisco 49ers). Similar to the gorgeous Ford Field in Detroit, all of the luxury suites are expected to be located on one side of the field. The goal of this stadium is to make it a multi-purpose stadium. In addition to the NFL games, the stadium is hoping to house concerts and motocross. The stadium is also designed to meet the requirements for international soccer events (such as FIFA World Cup). Finally, the stadium also has over 109,000 square feet of prime meeting space. This will allow business people a less-congested place to meet, and not actually have to travel into the City of San Francisco, all while bringing a return on investment for the City of Santa Clara. An added bonus for people travelling with families to Santa Clara, is that the stadium is located next to the Great American Theme Park. Coincidentally, the Great American Theme Park is owned and operated by Ohio Company Cedar Fair. This is the same company that is located Sandusky, which owns and operates Cedar Point.

            The most amazing and easily the most impressive element of the stadium design are its green, or environmentally friendly, components. The stadium is currently one of the largest buildings resisted with the US green Building Council. The 49ers new stadium is also the first in professional football to be an LEED certified stadium. LEED is simply an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Equally impressive is the fact the stadium will have a number of solar elements which will generate enough energy over the course of a year to offset all of the power consumed during the 49ers home games. The stadium will have three solar arrays over its bridges, incorporate water conserving plumbing and use of many recycled materials.  In keeping with the environmentally friendly theme, the stadium will also boast a green canopy above the tower portion of the stadium and the training facility. The stunning 27,000 square foot canopy will be covered with vegetation, which will seek to insulate the luxury suites and aide in storm water runoff. NRG Energy, who are partners with the Santa Clara Stadium Authority, are also devising economically friendly ways for fans to travel to the games. Bike lanes are being added and so are car charging stations, along with an extension of the gorgeous San Tomas creek trail walking paths. Plus, all fans are encouraged to use the city’s public transportation systems. I try to be environmentally conscious and have much respect for those who do. I must say that I am quite impressed with the efforts of the 49ers and Santa Clara. Ideally, the NFL will follow suit.

            Equally as mind blowing as the environmentally friendly components of the stadium, is the technology in the stadium. One of the first things the 49ers hope to do is provide convenience to their fans. The stadium will now be a ticketless and cashless infrastructure. Quite the impressive feature. Through their mobile device, fans attending the game will be able to do things like have their tickets scanned or be able to order and pay for food from the comforts of their recycled material seats. Additionally, they will up the wow factor by allowing fans, through their mobile devices, to watch the game from a particular camera, be able to view instant replays or get stats on players. The original thought of the Stadium Authority was to install in-seat monitors, but they withdrew that plan by logically figuring that they would merely get in the way. Many fans stress that they enjoy watching a game from home, rather than going to the stadium. They are able to see many things that fans attending the games just don’t see. Now you can bring your mobile device to the game, or choose to leave it at home. The fan, for once, will be able to customize their entire game day experience. The primary scoreboard will not be as obscene as the one located in Dallas Cowboys stadium. Additionally, the stadium will contain video displays in the North and South end zones (measuring roughly 48 feet high by 200 feet wide), featuring 13HD pixel layouts. There will also be a ribbon display around the seating bowl, also featuring 13 HD pixel layouts. As if this is any surprise, this will be the first stadium to have this feature. As previously stated, the NFL stadium will seat 68,500 fans. If you have ever been to an NFL stadium, you know all too well that internet connection ceases to exist. Well, not in the 49ers brand new venue. Each and every fan will have simultaneous access to a Wi-Fi network. Broadband restrictions will not kick a user off. Each and every person in the building will be able to check scores from around the league, watch replays or send photos. As a Cleveland Browns season ticket holder, I can assure you, I am jealous. There is absolutely nothing worse than not being able to access your cell phone for four straight hours. For those of you that would ask why you would want to do that at a game. Remember, I said I was a Browns season ticket holder.  Interesting, and somewhat ironic, that the best Wi-Fi network created at a sporting venue is right in the heart of Silicon Valley.

            Despite the stadium’s estimated 1.2 billion dollar price tag, big events are already successfully generating income for the City of Santa Clara and the San Francisco 49ers, long before its completion date. These events will play a major role in helping the San Francisco 49ers and the City of Santa Clara to offset the staggering price tag, in addition to generating revenue. In May of 2013, the San Francisco 49ers announced that Levi Strauss & Co. had purchased the naming rights to the new stadium. Levi Strauss secured the naming rights for 20 years. In doing so, they agreed to pay the City of Santa Clara and the San Francisco 49ers, $220.3 million dollars. Plus, Levi Strauss has an option to extend the naming deal an additional 5 years for $75 million dollars, which is the third largest naming rights in American sports.  As a side note, Levi Strauss has already trademarked the moniker “field of jeans” for the start of the season. Starting in 2014, Levi Stadium will become the new home for college football’s Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. Additionally, the San Francisco 49ers and the City of Santa Clara are hoping to land the FIFA World Cup games. In closing, on October 16, 2012, Levi Stadium was announced as one of two finalists (the other finalist was Sun Life Stadium in Miami, Florida) to host Super Bowl 50. On May 21, 2013 NFL owners voted and decided that Levi Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, would indeed host the 50^th Super Bowl.

            Clearly the City of Santa Clara and the San Francisco 49ers have done an outstanding job in creating an environmentally friendly, state of the art NFL stadium. As an added bonus, they are already bringing in revenue. Come 2014, the NFL experience in Santa Clara is going to be fantastic. Being at the breathtaking Levi’s Stadium, will undoubtedly be an unforgettable experience for the fans attending the games.

 

Works Cited

Lee, Stephanie. “Loss of 49ers Will Be A Big Hit To S.F. Budget.” SFGate.com. Web. 21 July    2013

Rosenberg, Mike. “49ers Kick Off Move To Santa Clara With Far From Traditional           Groundbreaking.” Mercury News.com. Web. 22 July 2013.

San Francisco 49ers. “About Levi’s Stadium.” 49ers.com. Web. July 22 2013.

San Jose Mercury News. “San Francisco 49ers Stadium Beams Rise From The Dirt In Santa         Clara.” Mercury News.com. Web. 21 July 2013.