Home of the San Francisco Forty Niners and the former home of the San Francisco Giants baseball team, Candlestick Park is the only stadium in the country to have hosted six NFC Championship Games, three Western Division Championships, 12 NFC West Conference Games, two World Series, and two All-star games.
The history behind the original name of Candlestick Park was quite colorful. Candlestick Point and the cove in its embrace were named long ago after the indigenous candlestick bird. A member of the curlew family, the candlestick is a wading bird with long, thin legs and a body about the size of a chicken, according to nationally known ornithologist Henry L. Betten. At one time thousands of these birds inhabited the Bay Area, but they were nearly hunted to extinction by the 1950s due toothe enormous demand for their delicate and delicious meat.
Candlestick originally was constructed by Charles Harney, General Contractor in 1958. The first game at Candlestick Point was played on April 12, 1960, between the Giants and St. Louis. The then-near-capacity crowd of 42,269 watched the Giants beat the Cardinals 3 - 2. In November 1969 the stadium, which spans 14.5 acres on an 83-acre site, was expanded by General Contractor William and Burrows to seat 62,000 during football games and 59,000 during baseball games, becoming one of the first modern multipurpose stadiums. In order to keep its facilities and services up to date, Candlestick Park undergoes annual renovations each spring. The next renovation phase will increase seating capacity to 71,000. Phones for the hearing impaired have been installed, all restrooms are now wheelchair accessible, and the concourses were recently enlarged.
The Stadium has six escalators, three passenger elevators, and one freight elevator. At one time its escalators were considered the longest in the country. There are four locker rooms, two first-aid stations, 2,000 locks, and 44 concession stands. Parking capacity is an ample 8,000 cars, 300 buses, 200 limousines, and 300 motorhomes.
Brilliant lighting for night events is supplied by nine 140 to 240 foot towers, providing more than 350 foot-candles of light on the arena surface. It is considered to be the best-lighted stadium in the United States, literally turning night into day and exceeding the requirements of color television cameras. A new, state-of-the-art Sony video display board was installed in January 1994.
In addition to hosting baseball and football games, Candlestick Park holds ride and drive events in the parking lot, Mickey Thompson Off-Road Races, and rock concerts. In fact, the Beatles performed their last U.S. concert there on August 29, 1966. The Rolling Stones and Monsters of Rock concerts, in 1981 and 1987, respectively, each drew crowds of 85,000, and Pope John Paul II's 1987 visit attracted 86,000 people.
"As much as the San Francisco 49ers' tradition is defined by great stars - from Y.A. Tittle to Joe Montana to Steve Young and Jerry Rice - its home stadium is surrounded by an incomparable aura. Candlestick Park is a menacing structure that can give you the chills.
Start with the breathtaking view of San Francisco Bay on the stadium's side. Add the aroma of the popular tailgate parties. Witness hotdog wrappers swirling in the unpredictable wind. Bundle up for typically brisk and damp conditions, and brace for a sea of 49ers - red outerwear in the stands. These are some of the things that make the "the Stick" perhaps the NFL's most flavorful venue. Like the Golden Gate Bridge and Fisherman's Wharf, Candlestick Park is a true slice of San Francisco.
Unless you're tailgating, you have no reason to eat before entering the Stick, and it's always wise to bring a jacket, even if its 70 degrees and sunny when you depart for the stadium.
All things considered, it's a unique experience - and the quality of football is pretty good, too. Of course, getting a ticket to this tast of the city can be difficult, but if you haven't been to a 49ers game at Candlestick, the experience could be worth the price you have to pay."
As written by The Sports Staff of USA TODAY in "The Complete Four Sport Stadium Guide" for Fodor's Sports
Top of the Sixth
Tom FitzGerald
San Francisco Chronicle
Wednesday, September 23, 1998
Let's say you want to bring your own food into a 49ers game at Candlestick Park. The rules prohibit alcohol, glass bottles and cans, but plastic bottles and thermoses are permitted.
Fruit is allowed, although it "must be cut into pieces prior to entering" (so forget the idea of hurling oranges). Now, you've made a lot of sandwiches. So you may be wondering how big a cooler you can lug in.
On this issue, the 49ers are remarkably permissive. According to the club's rules on page 58 of the game program, fans can carry "coolers or ice chests measuring 14 feet wide, 13 feet high, 15 feet deep or less."
"That's about the size of a studio apartment with high ceilings," says Jim Anza of Tracy. "So one man's ice chest is another man's castle. I'm not sure what to make of this rule, but I want to see your wife carry one in. And if she can, we could use her on the defensive line."
January 29, 1999 - A survey of players by the NFL Players Association voted San Francisco as the worst grass field and fifth worst overall, behind Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and New York.
Image of Candlestick Park by Cory Suppes of Ballparks.com
THE ULTIMATE SPORTS ROAD TRIP
By: Andrew Kulyk & Peter Farrell
| Candlestick Park Ranking by USRT |
| Architecture |  | 3 |
| Concessions | | 6 |
| Scoreboard | | 2 |
| Ushers | | 6 |
| Fan Support | | 6 |
| Location | | 4 |
| Banners/History | | 0 |
| Entertainment | | 4 |
| Concourses/Fan Comfort | | 3 |
| Bonus: Tailgate Scene | | 2 |
| Bonus: "Garlic Fries" | | 1 |
| Total Score |  | 37 |
December 10, 2000 - Opened in 1960, the originally named "Candlestick Park" has been the home to 6 NFC Championship games, two world series and 2 MLB all star games. Since the Giants have departed for their beautiful new ballpark, Pacific Bell Park, the 49ers are now the sole tenant of this stadium.
The building is located right on San Francisco bay on a piece of parkland called Candlestick Point. Opened in 1960, the stadium seats just under 70,000 for football. Other than the park, there is little around the stadium other than a multitude of surface lots ($20 to park), and reasonably easy access off the adjacent freeway. It is located about 8 miles south of downtown San Francisco.
Fans here arrive early to tailgate, and there is plenty to absorb in terms of the sights and smells of 49ers red and gold out in the parking lot. Despite the teams recent swoon, ticket demand remains high, and the Niners pretty much sell out all their games. Every seat in the house is the same price - $51. There are no premium/club seats, but there are some luxury suites hanging underneath the balcony.
Maneuvering your way around the stadium is a chore - concourses are super narrow, despite the fact that we were told that they had recently been widened (where???). There are escalators at each corner to ferry people to the upper concourse. From the mezzanine level or the upper level, one can enjoy breathtaking views of the city skyline, the bay, or the mountains depending which side of the stadium you are looking out from. Once in your seats, you realize how many locations have hideous sightlines: the baseball configuration remains intact so if you sit along the right field seats or on the visitor bleacher sides, you are far from the action and in some cases have a partial obstruction. At one end zone is a mammoth one color dot matrix board and accompanying jumbotron.
Concessions
Probably the one bright spot here is the variety of food... one is told to come hungry and if you're not tailgating, there is plenty to choose from including chinese, mexican, vegetarian, and the most noticable confectionary was the garlic fries... the heavy and enticing smell of garlic was everywhere. Unfortunately, we didn't eat anything there for two reasons - first the lines were endlessly long, and second, we sampled the local fare with some of the fans in the parking lot who graciously invited us to join their tailgate party and gave us a warm San Francisco welcome. NOCAL people beat SOCAL people anytime in terms of warmth and friendliness!
Banners/Retired Numbers
One of the biggest disappointments of this building was the lack of any of this teams' rich history on display. Ron, consider this - 5 Super Bowl titles... greats such as Montana, Brodie, Clark, and soon to depart, Rice. Yet no banners or names on display to enshrine these teams and these players. No problem, we thought, there must be a display in the concourse, or a team museum, something, anything! So we looked and looked, but came up empty. It's like nobody cares.
Our Summary
We really have so little to say about this place. The stadium is drab and ordinary, the team is mired in mediocrity, and when the best thing we have to report about is the views of the city and the french fries, you know that is a pretty sad statement. But you know what? This is still SAN FRANCISCO, one of America's greatest world class cities! And you know what else? Our day is not over yet... we're heading over to the BART train and catching the ride to Oakland.... Sunday night ESPN game of the week... where else would you rather be!
