The San Francisco 49ers held a ceremony to officially break ground in building a new football stadium in Santa Clara, due to be finished in time for the 2014 NFL season.
Santa Clara is located approximately 40 miles south of the 49ers current home of Candlestick Park. It is centrally located in the Bay Area's Silicon Valley which is rich in technology companies such as Apple, Intel, and Oracle among others.
Jed York, CEO of the 49ers spearheaded the $1.2 billion project in which the team and city received $850 million in bank loans, $114 million from city funds related to new city and area hotel revenue, and a $200 million NFL loan.
The new stadium will have 68,500-seat capacity with 165 luxury suites and 9,000 club seats.
According to York, the team will likely bid for the 2016 or 2017 Super Bowl to be played in the new stadium.
Approximately 3000 team officials, city officials, past and present players, and 49ers fans joined in the ceremony.
"This is pretty special," tight end Vernon Davis said. "There's never been a better time to be a 49er."
Candlestick will not soon be forgotten in the hearts and minds of 49ers fans. It was the site of the famed "The Catch" from the 1982 NFC Championships game which propelled a 49ers dynasty to five Super Bowl championships.
Now, the 49ers will look forward to creating new memories in a new stadium, hopefully in 2014.
