Candlestick Park - San Francisco, California
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member shadow101
N 37° 42.730 W 122° 23.200
10S E 554059 N 4174057
The primary sports stadium in San Francisco.
Waymark Code: WM4VM2
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 10/02/2008
Published By:Groundspeak Regular Member Math Teacher
Views: 13

In 1957, due to declining attendance and facilities, the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers decided in unison to relocate to the west coast of the United States. The Giants moved to San Francisco, and would need a new stadium, as the current park was too small. Representatives of San Francisco showed the Giants management a location in the extreme southeastern corner of the city, which had room for parking, and access to a new freeway from the peninsula. The agreement was made, and construction started on what was to be Candlestick Park.
However, once the Giants moved in, a serious problem was discovered. Every time that there had been an inspection tour, it had been held in the morning. In the afternoon and evening, when inland temperatures had risen, a very strong and cold wind came in off of the Pacific Ocean, and swept right past the stadium. This was to haunt the Giants for their entire stay. In that first season, a local prominent attorney sued the Giants, saying that the temperatures were unbearable.
Despite that, the team played well, and prospered. The local NFL franchise, the Forty Niners, who played in an ancient stadium elsewhere, endorsed a plan that would expand Candlestick for football, adding seats and shutting out the wind. Construction on this began in the summer of 1971, and continued through next spring. Both the Giants and Niners played before construction during the 1971 season, and ironically both teams won division championships that year.
Unfortunately, the wind problem was not cured, only reduced somewhat. But one interesting item was discovered: as the inland areas cooled in the fall, but ocean temperatures continued to rise, Candlestick Park was an excellent place to watch sports that time of year. So while the Giants became increasingly miserable with what they saw as a white elephant, the Niners thrived here, and became one of the league powers.
The Giants finally gained relief, when in 2000 they moved into a new facility near downtown, one that they had constructed themselves. And one that was carefully designed to mitigate any possible wind problems. The Niners were left to themselves, but the stadium was getting old, and maintenance was becoming expensive. They have gone through several plans for new venues, first adjacent to the current stadium, then in the nearby Hunter's Point neighborhood, and finally 40 miles to the south, in Santa Clara. This latter plan, adjacent to their business and training facility, is the current preference, but hurdles remain before construction can begin.
If the Niners do move, Candlestick is likely to be demolished and redeveloped, and a chapter in sports history will have ended. And not just of sports, for it has hosted a number of other events, including the final commercial concert of The Beatles in 1966. Other visitors have included the Rolling Stones, Metallica and Guns'n'Roses. More post season NFL games have been played here than anywhere else. And those of us who survived will never forget how when a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck the Bay Area just before game 3 of the 1989 World Series, no one was injured at Candlestick, despite over 60,000 people present.
Wikipedia Url: [Web Link]

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Queens Blessing visited Candlestick Park - San Francisco, California 10/03/2013 Queens Blessing visited it
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