San Francisco's Candlestick Park, where the Beatles performed their last-ever stadium concert on Aug. 29, 1966, will be demolished next year to make way for a shopping center, San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross reported Wednesday.
The report says authorities plan to blow up the stadium after the end of the San Francisco 49ers National Football League 2013 season late next year. The 49ers are moving to a new stadium near Santa Clara, about 45 minutes away, beginning in 2014.
A spokesman for the city's Parks and Recreation Department told the Chronicle the time has come to tear it down. "Everything has a life, and Candlestick has exceeded it," the story quoted Phil Ginsburg, head of the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department.
The area has been in disrepair for years. A visit we made to the area last year found much of the parking lot paving broken. The actual stadium itself is fenced off when the 49ers are not playing.
There are few reminders of the historic Beatles concert that took place there. No signs outside mention it. The Beatles' set that night in August was typical for the tour: "Rock 'n' Roll Music," "She's a Woman," "If I Needed Someone," "Day Tripper," "Baby's In Black," "If I Fell," "Yesterday," "I Wanna Be Your Man," "Nowhere Man," "Paperback Writer" and "Long Tall Sally." The concert was recorded on a hand-held recorder and made its way to bootleggers.
The stadium has been continually criticized as being cold even in midsummer. Paul McCartney complained about the chill in the air in the recording of the Beatles' concert.
But now it looks like the end for the historic stadium is near. Another Beatles landmark is coming down.
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