SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers have officially broken ground on a new stadium in Santa Clara.
Under clear skies with the sun setting behind the mountains towering above Silicon Valley, 49ers CEO Jed York stuck a gold shovel in the ground at 6:53 p.m. local time in a ceremonial step Thursday that took parts of three decades to make happen. The move some 40 miles south of Candlestick Park sets the stage for the NFL’s debut in the technology-rich region.
York says the 49ers hope to open the $1.2 billion stadium for the 2014 season and bid for the Super Bowl in 2016 and 2017 with hopes of landing one.