3Com Park
Address- 602 Jamestown Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94124
Team- San Francisco 49ers
Year Opened- 1959
Renovations- 1969, 1995
Capacity- 70,207
Surface- Grass
aka- Candlestick Park
When the Giants decided to move from New York to San Francisco in 1958, part of the deal was that they would have a major-league stadium to have and to hold.
The City and County of San Francisco came up with 60 acres at Candlestick Park, about 7 miles south of downtown on the edge of the bay, and opened it in April 1960. It went through a series of improvements in the 1970s when the San Francisco 49ers joined as tenants, followed by more improvements in the late '80s.
Located at Candlestick Point on San Francisco Bay, Candlestick Park opened as a structurally up-to-date 43,000 seat stadium, only to quickly fall under criticism for its poor location. At first it was open in the outfield, allowing icy winds to whip in from the bay through the stadium's open end, which often dropped the already cool temperatures an additional 15 to 20 degrees during the course of a night game.
Originally natural grass, the stadium was converted to artificial turf and the open end enclosed for the NFL's 49ers in 1972, but was converted back to grass in 1979. The expansion to 58,000 seats at Candlestick reduced the wind problem somewhat, but it remained an uncomfortable place during most night games.
In 1995, Candlestick was renamed 3Com Park when 3Com Corp. answered the call for a major corporate sponsor. It will remain 3Com Park into the next century. Candlestick closed for baseball after the 1999 season as the Giants moved into Pac Bell Park, a classically-styled baseball-only stadium located in San Francisco's China Basin, closer to downtown.
Besides major-league baseball and football, 3Com Park is used for music concerts, trade shows and other special events.
San Francisco 49ers
