Ballparks of Major
League Baseball Poster
Candlestick Park Stadium Baseball
"Candlestick Autumn Classic" Print Candlestick
Park Poster by Mike Smith
AT&T Park Gold & Infield
Dirt Photo Mint
2013 San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park
Giants Infield Dirt Drink Coasters - (Set of 4)
AT&T Park Silver Coin Card
From the first
baseball game in 1961 until the last one in 1999, Candlestick Park
was always criticized. Discussion of a new stadium in San Francisco
began in the early 1950s when Mayor George Christopher promised to
construct a stadium if a Major League Baseball team moved to the the
Bay Area. In November 1954 voters passed a $5 million bond for
acquisition of land, construction and completion of a stadium. After
the 1957 the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers moved to the
west coast, the Dodgers to Los Angeles and the Giants to San
Francisco. With no stadium under construction, the Giants played at
Seals Stadium. Two locations for a stadium in San Francisco were
discusses, one in downtown and the other at Candlestick Point. The
site at Candlestick Point was chosen because the city already owned
31 acres. The city bought an additional 41 acres at an absurd cost
of $2.7 million from Charles Harney, who became the stadium
contractor. Construction on the reinforced concrete stadium began in
August 1958. Problems arose almost immediately after construction
began. Neighbors complained about numerous things, grand juries
investigated irregular funding in the stadium, seats were delayed
being installed because of a Teamster strike and the stadium was
called a fire trap. However, the stadium was completed at a cost of
$15 million and named Candlestick Park after its location.
The Giants played their first game at Candlestick Park on April
12, 1960 when 45,744 fans filled the stadium. The grandstand
consisted of two main seating decks. The lower deck extended
from behind homeplate and down the first base line, down the
third base line and around the left field foul pole into left
centerfield. The upper deck extended from homeplate down both
the first and third base lines. A small section of bleachers
were located in right center field. The scoreboard was located
above the hitters backdrop in centerfield. Original dimensions
at the stadium were 330 ft. (left), 420f ft. (center), and 335
ft. (right). Additional problems arose after Candlestick Park
opened. Although
it could be a nice warm sunny day at the ballpark, it could also
be very windy. Once the sun set, the temperatures dropped and
fog was present sometimes. Half of Candlestick Park’s seats were
originally to be heated, but because the piping was placed to
deep into the cement, the heating never worked.
After only several years of existence Candlestick Park began to
deteriorate. At one point the mayor of San Francisco proposed
that a new $50 million stadium be built in the downtown area,
but his idea was dropped. Between 1970 and 1973 $16.1 million
was spent expanding the stadium for the San Francisco 49ers
(NFL). Candlestick Park was enclosed, increasing the seating
capacity to 59,000, retractable seats were added in right field
to allow the conversion to a football field and the grass field
was replaced by Astroturf. A new video/scoreboard was located
behind the seats in left field, replacing the old scoreboard in
centerfield. In the mid 1970s Giants owner Horace Stoneman
wanted to leave San Francisco because the team was struggling to
attract fans. Stoneman nearly sold the team to a group in
Toronto before Bob Lurie bought the team in 1976, keeping them
in San Francisco. Lurie wanted a new stadium constructed
downtown or either have Candlestick Park domed. Neither of these
ever happened even after Mayor Dianne Feinstein proposed doming
the stadium in 1985. The same year $30 million was spent on
improving the stadium including adding a new scoreboard, more
concessions and luxury suites.
Candlestick
Park remained basically the same throughout the Giants tenure at the
stadium. The enclosure of the stadium helped reduce the wind, but it
was still present during games. A major earthquake shook Candlestick
Park before the start of Game 3 of the 1989 World Series between the
Giants and the Oakland A’s. However, Candlestick Park did not
collapse as there was only minor damage to the stadium. Prior to the
1993 season, the fence in left field was more than 20 feet from the
actual stands. In 1994 $5 million was spent adding $300 field seats, bleachers in
left field and an old-time scoreboard in right field.
Candlestick Park was renamed 3 Com Park in 1996. In 1993, the Giants
began lobbying for a new ballpark. Construction on the Giants new
ballpark,
AT&T
Park, began in 1998. The last Giants game at Candlestick Park
was on September 30, 1999. In September 2004, Candlestick Park was
renamed Monster Park after Monster Cable Products Inc. purchased the
naming rights for four years. It has since been renamed
Candlestick Park. The 2013 season will mark the 49ers last
year
at Candlestick Park before they move into their new stadium in
Santa Clara in 2014. Candlestick Park will be
imploded after the 2013 49ers season and the site
will be used for a mall and residential/office
complex.
FACTS & FIGURES
-Tenants:
San Francisco Giants (MLB), San Francisco 49ers (NFL)
-Capacity:
45,744 (original), 57,546 (final)
-Surface:
Grass
-Cost: $15 Million, $16.1 Million & 5 Million (renovations)
-Opened:
April 12, 1960
-Closed: September 30, 1999 (MLB)
-Demolished:
Still standing
-Dimensions:
330-L, 420-C, 330-R (original), 335-L, 400-C, 330-R
(final)
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