Candlestick Park
The land at Candlestick Point was purchased by local contractor Charles Harney in 1952 for a quarry and industrial development. He made a profit of over $2 million when he sold the land to build the stadium. The entire deal became the subject of a grand jury investigation in 1958 due to its controversial nature. Ground was broken shortly after this investigation, and the Giants selected the name of Candlestick Park on the 3rd of March 1959 through a name-the-park contest. It was the first modern baseball stadium built entirely of reinforced concrete. Vice President Richard Nixon threw out the ceremonial first pitch on the 12th of April 1960, marking the official opening day. At that time, the site was one of the few pieces of land available in San Francisco suitable for a sports stadium. The location also had room for the 10,000 parking spaces promised to the Giants.
As a baseball field, the stadium was infamous for windy conditions, damp air from fog, and chilly temperatures. Architect John Bolles designed the park with a boomerang-shaped concrete baffle in the upper tier to protect it from wind. Unfortunately, the structure never worked properly. For Candlestick's first 10 seasons, the wind blew in from left-center and out toward right-center. When the park was expanded to accommodate the 49ers in 1971, enclosing the park did not cut down on the wind significantly. Instead, the wind swirled from all directions and remained as strong and cold as before. Giants Hall of Fame center fielder Willie Mays claimed the wind cost him over 100 home runs. During his 12 years at Candlestick Park from 1960 through 1971, Mays hit 396 home runs total. Attorney Melvin Belli filed a claim against the Giants in 1960 because his six-seat box costing almost $1,600 was unbearably cold. Belli won in court after proving the radiant heating system advertised was a failure. The pipes were not embedded in the concrete and produced insufficient heat.
Following the 1970 season, the stadium was enclosed with grandstands around the outfield to prepare for the 49ers moving in 1971. This expansion resulted in an irregular shape where views from lower-deck seating in the baseball configuration's right-field corner became obstructed by the eastern grandstand of the football seating configuration. These seats sat empty during football games and were eventually removed. A sliding pit configuration with dirt cut-outs only around the bases was installed in 1971 primarily to keep dust down in breezy conditions. The stadium featured thousands of prime seats along one whole sideline designed to be retractable. It would slide backwards for baseball games under the upper deck. After the Giants played their 1999 season and moved away, this grandstand remained permanently in its football position. The Giants' dugout included a tunnel to the clubhouse so heat flowed into it. The visitors' dugout on the third base side was noticeably colder than the home team's area. Players complained that the visitor dugout was significantly less comfortable due to inadequate heating systems.
On the 17th of October 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake struck San Francisco minutes before Game 3 of the World Series began at Candlestick Park. No one within the stadium was injured despite minor structural damage incurred to the facility. An ESPN documentary revealed that local stadium authority officials demanded an engineering project to shore up perceived safety red flags between the 1988 and 1989 seasons. This action prevented a collapse wave that could have killed thousands of fans. The World Series between the Giants and Oakland Athletics was delayed for 10 days while engineers checked structural soundness. In January 1982, Dwight Clark caught a game-winning touchdown pass from Joe Montana leading the 49ers to Super Bowl XVI against the Dallas Cowboys. This play became known as The Catch and is considered one of the most famous moments in football history. On the 23rd of December 2013, the 49ers played their final game at Candlestick Park against the Atlanta Falcons. NaVorro Bowman intercepted a pass which some sports columnists called The Pick at the Stick. The 49ers won 34, 24 after this interception.
The Beatles famously gave their last full public concert at Candlestick Park on the 29th of August 1966. A recording of the 33-minute setlist was made by press officer Tony Barrow but ran out with a minute of Long Tall Sally remaining. Much existing color film footage was captured by 15-year-old fan Barry Hood who released some film in a limited edition documentary titled The Beatles Live In San Francisco. Paul McCartney returned to become the closing act of Candlestick Park's long musical history on the 14th of August 2014. He used a portion of Hood's original 1966 Beatles film on a big screen during that final concert. Pope John Paul II celebrated a Papal Mass at Candlestick Park on the 18th of September 1987 attended by an estimated crowd of 70,000 people. The stadium served as location for dozens of commercial shoots and appeared in films like Experiment in Terror from 1962 and Freebie and the Bean from 1974. Scenes for Contagion starring Matt Damon were filmed there in February 2011. The Fan was also shot at the venue in 1996.
The rights to the stadium name were licensed to 3Com Corporation from September 1995 until 2002 for $900,000 per year. During that time the park became known as 3Com Park or simply 3Com Park at Candlestick Point. In 2002 the naming rights deal expired and the park officially became San Francisco Stadium at Candlestick Point. On the 28th of September 2004 a new naming rights deal was signed with Monster Cable making it Monster Park. Just over a month later a measure passed in the November election stipulated the name revert to Candlestick permanently after the contract expired in 2008. Freeway signs changed to read Monster Park but reverted back to Candlestick Park in 2008. Many local fans continued referring to the park by its original name regardless of official changes. Chris Berman often called it Commercial-Stick Park while others mocked the sponsorship calling it Dot-com Park. Despite numerous official and unofficial name changes the stadium was lovingly referred to as the Stick by many locals and die-hard fans from its 1960 titling.
With the departure of the 49ers, Candlestick Park was left without any permanent tenants. Demolition began in November 2014 as workers tore out seats. In January 2015 the developer withdrew a request to implode the stadium due to local dust pollution concerns. Instead mechanized structural demolition commenced which was favored over implosion. Demolition was expected to be complete by March 2015 but was not completed until the 24th of September 2015. The last event held at Candlestick was a concert by Paul McCartney in August 2014 before the physical destruction started. In 2014, 1,000 historic Candlestick Park Stadium seats were installed at Kezar Stadium for public enjoyment. Mayor Edwin M. Lee helped re-open that renovated venue with a warm-up run. In December 2016, 4,000 additional historic seats were acquired and installed at Kezar paid for by San Francisco Deltas. As of 2019, the site is planned to be redeveloped into office space though plans have faced delays since 2018.
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Common questions
When was Candlestick Park officially opened?
Candlestick Park officially opened on the 12th of April 1960 when Vice President Richard Nixon threw out the ceremonial first pitch. The stadium had been selected as the name for the new facility through a contest on the 3rd of March 1959.
Why is Candlestick Park famous for its weather conditions?
Candlestick Park became infamous for windy conditions, damp air from fog, and chilly temperatures that affected gameplay. Architect John Bolles designed a boomerang-shaped concrete baffle to protect against wind but the structure never worked properly during the park's first 10 seasons or after expansion in 1971.
What happened at Candlestick Park during the 1989 World Series?
The Loma Prieta earthquake struck San Francisco minutes before Game 3 of the World Series began at Candlestick Park on the 17th of October 1989. No one within the stadium was injured despite minor structural damage because officials demanded an engineering project to shore up safety red flags between the 1988 and 1989 seasons.
Which band gave their last full public concert at Candlestick Park?
The Beatles famously gave their last full public concert at Candlestick Park on the 29th of August 1966. A recording of the 33-minute setlist was made by press officer Tony Barrow but ran out with a minute of Long Tall Sally remaining.
When did demolition of Candlestick Park begin and end?
Demolition of Candlestick Park began in November 2014 when workers tore out seats. The physical destruction was not completed until the 24th of September 2015 after mechanized structural demolition commenced following a withdrawal of implosion requests due to dust pollution concerns.