Candlestick Park was originally opened in 1960 as the home of the San Francisco Giants. The San Francisco 49ers started playing at “The Stick” in 1971. This Monday, December 23, 2013 will be the final regular season game played at Candlestick Park.
History of Candlestick Park
According to Wikipedia, “the stadium is situated at Candlestick Point on the western shore of the San Francisco Bay. Due to its location next to the bay, strong winds often swirl down into the stadium, creating unusual playing conditions. At the time of its construction in the late 1950s, the stadium site was one of the few pieces of land available in the city that was suitable for a sports stadium and had space for the 10,000 parking spaces promised to the Giants.”
I watched a clip on SportsCenter where they said that the builders only toured the site during the morning, so they didn’t realize how windy it got in the afternoon until after they had started building. Big oopsie!
In 2000, the San Francisco Giants moved from Candlestick Park to their new location at AT&T Park.
The 49ers will begin playing at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara in 2014. Here’s an interesting comparison between Candlestick Park and Levi’s Stadium. The new stadium is about 40 miles South and is just North of San Jose.
Great Moments at Candlestick Park
There have been numerous memorable moments at Candlestick Park, but few top “The Catch” from Joe Montana to Dallas Clark from the 1981 NFC Championship over the Dallas Cowboys.
and in baseball, the interruption of Game 3 of the 1989 World Series between the Oakland A’s and San Francisco Giants due to earthquake (happens at 2:08 of this video).
Where To Buy Tickets for Last Game at Candlestick Park
If you’re a big fan of the San Francisco 49ers or just want to take part in a little bit of sports history, I would recommend attending or watching this game.
It is the Monday Night Football game on ESPN, so it will start at 5:40 PST. The 49ers are hosting the Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta is out of the playoff picture, but the 49ers are fighting for a playoff spot because the Seattle Seahawks have almost clinched the Division and the Arizona Cardinals are coming on strong.
You can buy tickets from Razorgator or StubHub, with tickets starting at $187.
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