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Mayor: City can meet 49ers stadium timeline
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 by 2012.','pp'))
The 49ers want to be playing in a stadium other than Monster Park (above) by 2012.
SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - Mayor Gavin Newsom said he is optimistic that the Navy will transfer ownership of the former Hunters Point Shipyard to The City in enough time to meet a goal by the San Francisco 49ers to have a new stadium built on the site by 2012.
Although the entire 500 acres of shipyard land is slated for redevelopment, the work is being completed in parcels, with a housing development currently under construction on the first 66 acres following a $400 million environmental cleanup of pollutants left behind from the Navy’s use of the site.
It will cost an estimated $500 million to clean up the remaining acres, but The City needs only to begin its cleanup effort for the 27 acres on which it has proposed to build the 49ers new football stadium, said Jesse Blout, Newsom’s deputy chief of staff for economic and development matters.
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While in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Newsom met with Navy officials, along with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, to talk about moving up the timeline for some of the land transfer.
“We’re moving forward,” Newsom told The Examiner after the meeting. “Nothing as relates to the details of the meeting gives us any pause that we can’t succeed in achieving our goals of an early transfer of parcels necessary to fulfill our timeline with the 49ers.”
In the plan proposed by The City, San Francisco would take ownership of the land as-is and would be responsible for taking care of the toxic cleanup, Blout said, adding that the Navy would provide a lump sum to cover the costs. That amount is being negotiated and there are hopes that Congress might allocate funding for the project.
“The question remaining is funding, which is not an insignificant hurdle,” Newsom conceded, saying that officials for the Navy and The City will continue to work on securing the money and other details in the coming weeks.
49ers and city officials have been in negotiations for nearly a decade to rebuild a new stadium at Candlestick Point to replace the team’s aging home. Last November, team co-owner John York called Newsom to say The City’s plan was unworkable and the NFL franchise was pulling out of the deal to relocate in Santa Clara. The team has since resumed negotiations with San Francisco officials — who came back with the Hunters Point proposal — but have made it clear that Santa Clara is their first option, and San Francisco only a backup.
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Comments from Examiner Readers
12:41 AM MST on Fri., Jan. 18, 2008 re: "Santa Clara may put 49ers stadium plan on November ballot"
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SF Niner Fan 4 Southbay Stadium said:
Wherever they build the stadium, I hope a generous corporation will decide to buy the naming rights, but name it Bill Walsh Stadium, sponsored by Google -- or something like that. There's no one that's done more for the 49er Franchise, and today's NFL than Bill Walsh -- naming just the field at Candlestick just seem a bit cheap. Building the standium in the southbay also makes more sense, not just because logistically, it puts the stadium closer to more of its fans (meaning less gas consumed on those SUVs on those Sunday trips from Fresno), but because Walsh also attended San Jose State U., and made his name at Stanford -- both Southbay locations. And if Rice-A-Roni gets to call themselves the San Francisco Treat -- where exactly is Rice-a-Roni ? They're in Chicago -- why can't a Niners team based in Santa Clara, not keep calling themselves the San Francisco 49ers? The SF stadium won't happen because the Major still can't figure out how to fix Muni, or the Zoo...or anything
151 agree | 153 disagree
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examiner critic said:
sounds like they're negotiating to me
262 agree | 259 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Stanford just renovated their Stadium last year. It was done quickly, efficiently, and inexpensively. It is already the best football stadium in the Bay Area. They had a deal in place with NIMBY-sensitive Palo Alto and it's worked out so far. There's little chance of making Stanford Stadium a possible 49ers home.
248 agree | 246 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
go mayor!! score the touch down for us!
297 agree | 279 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
I haven't heard any one mention it, but I have another option for a future home for the 49ers: Palo Alto. How about the 49ers partnering with Stanford University and build a 70,000 seat stadium that could be easily expanded by push of a button to 5 to 10000 (for future Super Bowl) or big games (Like the Raiders and Rams). I propose demolishing the current Stanford Stadium and build a state of the art football specific stadium. While the new stadium is being constructed, both the 49ers and Stanford would share Candlestick Park. Look at the Arizona Cardinals partnership with the University of Arizona in Glendale, Arizona. If not a partnership with Stanford, what about Cal Berkeley? Think outside of the box.
324 agree | 275 disagree
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God would the 49ers just go already said:
They make millions of dollars for the York's, yet the York's want the public to build the stadium that they will then rent at sub-standard rents. I say don't let the door hit ya in the ass on the way out!
296 agree | 285 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
whoo hoo! i hope the 49ers stay in San Fran, it just makes sense, the SF 49ers are a team that should stay true to their city, thanks Gavin Newson for holding on to a great team. GO SAN FRAN 49ERS!
320 agree | 313 disagree
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