The new stadium, meant to be as fan friendly a facility as possible, will include 165 luxury suites as well as a 5-story photograph of ‘The Catch”. The 49ers even went as far as to open a preview center – at the staggering cost of $2.5 million – where they could present their plans for the new stadium to prospective suite, season ticket and club seat holders. The new stadium would be erected next to the Great America theme park and it would feature 68,500 seats. The plans were approved in 2010 by the Santa Clara voters. Under an agreement with the city, the hotels in the vicinity and the city itself would contribute $114 million. The only problem is that the project would cost a mind-boggling $937 million compared to which the city’s contribution is mere rake rebate. Where the rest of the funds will come from is yet unclear. The Santa Clara theme park has opposed the 49ers’ plans, however Jed York’s family has managed to team up with a local real estate company to buy the theme park and thus to get at least that hurdle out of the way.
According to Jed York, the 49ers are 100% focused on the project and they hope to begin construction in 2013.
