Stadium and team built well
Owner Jed York oversees rise of a franchise’s dreams
The steel beams and towering cranes rise high in the Santa Clara sky, blocking out any remaining doubt: The 49ers’ new stadium is almost a reality.
The final stages are coming after years fraught with clumsy missteps and polarizing angst. But the man responsible for guiding the project to a resolution is modest about his accomplishment.
“I don’t know that we’ve accomplished anything yet,” Jed York said. “But we’ve done some really good things.”
It’s tempting to call this fast-growing bundle of steel and concrete York’s baby. But that wouldn’t do justice to Jaxon Edward York, who was born Oct. 27 to proud parents Jed and Danielle.
Seven-pound Jaxon arrived nine days late. His dad’s other adorable newcomer is scheduled to be delivered on time: The 49ers plan to open the 2014 season in the 1,850,000square-foot building. With every week, another layer is added: Prefabricated concrete risers and steps are the latest developments; York’s personal favorite moment was when the new escalators were lowered in via crane.
It’s time to give York, 31, his proper due. In late 2008, when the older son of owners John and Denise DeBartolo York officially assumed the title of president and owner, the 49ers were an unvarnished mess. They were finishing a sixth consecutive season of missing
the playoffs. Their stadium plans were considered by many — including this particular doubter — an ill-conceived pipe dream. The onceproud franchise had flipped coaches again and seemed to have completely lost its way.
And the baby-faced son of York was supposed to rescue the team from its winter of discontent?
Fast-forward four years: The 49ers, under Jim Harbaugh, are one of the top teams in the league. The franchise, led by GM Trent Baalke, has made smart personnel decisions and is considered a model in many respects. The concrete evidence of a new era casts a shadow of change over the team’s Santa Clara training facility.
And while many of us now have to eat crow, York isn’t intent on dishing it up.
“You don’t want to be the cocky team,” York said. “We haven’t won a Super Bowl yet; we haven’t finished building the stadium yet.”
There are still pending issues with the project. The team faces a court battle with the state of California over redevelopment funds, after the state rejected a settlement reached between the team and local schools.
There is also still some disappointment among the public that the stadium couldn’t be built in the 49ers’ home city, as well as concern that longtime fans may be priced out of the new building, in which every seat carries a license surcharge. But York believes that the end result will satisfy most fans; he doesn’t think the relocation or increased prices will impede the ability of most loyalists to attend 10 games a year. York said that 70 percent of the 49ers’ season-ticket holders have renewed for the new stadium.
The 49ers will retain the name San Francisco, and the city will be the host when a Super Bowl is awarded to the region. York expects the stadium to be in the regular Super Bowl rotation, and the 49ers are currently in the running for either the 50th Super Bowl in February 2016 or the 51st the following year.
“I would have liked Super Bowl 49,” York said. “That would have been cool.”
But a team must be in its new building for two full seasons before hosting a Super Bowl. York wishes that the stadium project could have been completed years ago but acknowledges that there’s been a silver lining to the long process. The recession meant that construction companies were eager to get the project under way. And as the economy has picked up and more large-scale projects are being planned, all parties are incentivized to finish the stadium on time.
“We had the right people in place, and it was the right time to hit the market before other big projects start,” York said. “We were ahead of the game and knew we could keep costs stable. There are incentives for everyone to do it the right way and do it quickly.”
York has talked to members of the construction crew who are 49ers fans and excited to be working on a building that may become iconic. York expects there to be a lot of initials hidden in the concrete.
“And I’m sure someone will try to bury a Raiders jersey in there,” he said.
But a buried jersey might be the only silver and black evidence in the stadium. While the building was designed to house two teams, there have been no substantial talks with the Raiders over sharing the building.
“We’ve moved forward,” York said. “There haven’t been any detailed conversations at all.”
York is a technology fan: He and Danielle created a Twitter handle for Jax the day the baby was born, and he enjoyed following the Giants World Series run through Twitter. York expects the new stadium to seamlessly integrate technology into the game-day experience, with such things as fantasy football lounges, NFL RedZone access and the ability to focus specifically on a particular player or position at one’s seat. Coming soon: the Patrick Willis Cam.
Next season — the team’s last at Candlestick — the 49ers will celebrate the frumpy old concrete bowl where they have played so many memorable games. York, who was born the year of the 49ers’ first Super Bowl season, has been careful to venerate past tradition while pushing the team into the future. He knows how many fond memories are contained in the ’Stick. He’d even love to see the Giants play one last exhibition baseball game there before the old stadium meets its fate.
“We know the concourses aren’t wide, the bathrooms aren’t nice,” York said. “But a lot of cool things happened there. And we plan to honor that.”
And then it’s on to a new future that some of us doubted would ever come.