- The City of San Francisco owns and operates the stadium.
- The original groundbreaking was in 1958, and in 1959, the stadium was dubbed "Candlestick Park" in a balloting among fans. It is fitting, as the stadium sits atop Candlestick Point.
- Original Cost of Construction - $24.6 Million
- Stadium Financing - 100% publicly financed
- Candlestick Park finally opened on April 12, 1960 for the San Francisco Giants after two seasons at San Francisco's Seals Stadium. Then Vice President Richard Nixon threw out the first pitch.
- Architect John Bolles' boomerang / shell baffle design was intended to protect the park from wind and cold. It did not work, as the stadium's swirling winds and cold are infamous.
- On August 29, 1966, The Beatles played their last concert for paying fans at Candlestick Park.
- The stadium has 1000 light fixtures; 1500 watts each on nine towers 140 to 240 feet high generating 350-foot candles of light on the Playing surface. Surface Total Light for Football 700, Work Lights 97.
- The stadium sits on an 82 acre site. By itself, the structure is 14.5 acres.
- There are over 1500+ employees employed at the stadium on game day.
- From the Concession stand; In a typical football season the following are sold:
- 150,000 Hot Dogs and Sausages
- 30,000 Peanuts
- 45,000 Servings of Garlic Fries
- 138,000 Sodas
- 53,000 Hamburgers
- 14,000 Ice Cream Bars
- 30,000 Lemonades
Okay, trivia time…What do Jerry Rice and Pope John Paul II have in common? How about Willie Mays and Richard Nixon? Joe Montana and The Beatles? Answer: They have all set foot upon the playing surface of the San Francisco 49ers!
Here are some interesting facts about one of the most important aspects of San Francisco 49ers football… The Field!
- It was christened on April 12, 1960, when the San Francisco Giants defeated the St. Louis Cardinals. At that time, the field was used solely for baseball.
- The stadium was enlarged and fully enclosed in 1971-1972 to house the San Francisco 49ers, who moved in after 25 years at Kezar Stadium. The natural grass was also removed at this time and replaced by artificial turf. It remained this way until 1979 until a natural surface was reinstalled.
- The grass surface at the stadium is currently comprised of 110,000 square feet of 1" sod or approximately 340 tons! That's more than 50 times the weight of the entire 49ers roster!
- Since 1979, the sod has been replaced annually. In some years, due to inclement weather or abnormal wear-and-tear, the sod was completely replaced a second time near the end of the football season.
- It normally takes about 20 days to re-sod the playing surface. However, our amazing grounds-crew has been known to do it within a week.
- The sod is technically known as "Tiffway II Bermuda", but in lay terms it is a hybrid of Bermuda with a Perennial Rye over-seed.
- The field is mowed everyday, as constant cutting encourages the grass to continue growing. It takes one riding mower four hours to do the job.
- The grass is fertilized approximately every 10 days.
- Barring any inclement weather, it takes two days and 140 gallons of paint to prepare the field for a standard Sunday game. For a playoff game, add another day and another 50 gallons to "red-out" the end zones.
- The field is 13.75' above sea-level, refuting the myth that the playing surface is under sea-level.
- Field drainage is provided by a cell-system of thousands of perforated plastic pipes underneath the surface. Surface water seeps down into these pipes and out of the stadium.