Candlestick Park Demolition, San Francisco 49ers: Legendary Home of 2012 NFC Champions, 49ers History Set for 2014 Implosion

Candlestick Park, the home field for the San Francisco 49ers for more than 40 years, is scheduled for implosion within weeks of the team's last home game of the 2013 season. The stadium was the home to legends Jerry Rice, Steve Young and Joe Montana, and even hosted the Beatles' last commercial concert in August of 1966.  San Francisco has decided on a demolition plan that will have the building dynamited in a 30-second implosion early in 2014. The new stadium taking the place of "The Stick" will be the Santa Clara Stadium, which is currently under construction.

When the Giants' move to San Francisco from New York in 1958, as part of deal for the teams city change, a stadium would be built for the baseball team. The name "Candlestick Park" came from a name-the-park contest on March 3, 1959. It is considered the first modern stadium because of its construction entirely out reinforced concrete. During the 1970 and 1971 football season, the San Francisco 49ers started their long relationship with Candlestick. One of the greatest moments in 49ers history came in 1982 when Joe Montana threw a Super Bowl winning touchdown pass to Dwight Clark. This moment has since been coined "The Catch" and lead to the first Super Bowl Championship for the San Francisco 49ers. The Giants left the stadium in the hands of the 49ers for Pacific Bell Park (now AT&T Park). A grassroots campaign for the Giants to play another baseball game at Candlestick has existed since 2009. Many fans had hoped to see another game in 2010 during the 50th Anniversary of the Giants first game at Candlestick Park, but this idea was dropped due to the cost. With the plans of demolition it looks like this will never come to fruition.

The San Francisco 49ers' website has a small link at their top of the homepage that leads you to the new Santa Clara Stadium website. As you navigate around this site, you are shown pictures, projections, and even ways to purchase tickets for seats and seating packages. There is even a section for the "preview center." This is an interactive meeting for people to come in and really experience what is in store for the new stadium including a mock suit and a 9-foot touchwall.  It seems very apparent that the turn over for the 49ers will be a quick one, or even non-existant, going into the 2014 season.