The definition of IRONY

by David Fucillo on Feb 26, 2007 7:02 PM PST in 49ers Stadium

I certainly hope that the clown that overlooked this is not making any prominent decisions in free agency or the draft! This is truly an ironic moment. How do you starting putting together plans for an $800 million stadium and somehow overlook the fact that part of the land is owned by the city you're LEAVING.

San Francisco's land is just 80 feet wide, but it runs across the entire 20-acre parcel east of Highway 101 where the 49ers want to build, and not far from where the stadium's southern end zone would be located.

The 4-acre ribbon of territory, on the site's southern edge just opposite the Great America amusement park, is where a pipeline carrying water from the Sierra to 2.4 million Bay Area customers is buried. The pipe, part of the Hetch Hetchy system, is owned by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.

The significance of the pipeline went largely unnoticed until The Chronicle started asking questions at San Francisco City Hall, where officials then pulled up maps showing the pipe's pathway across the stadium site.

The land is now used for parking for Great America, which hopes to partner with the 49ers to build the stadium. The amusement park's owners had a five-year lease for the PUC land but allowed it to expire in 2004. Now they have a month-to-month deal, meaning San Francisco could terminate the agreement at any time.

Great America pays $100,000 a year for the property, and any long-term lease renewal could require approval from San Francisco's Board of Supervisors. Given the 49ers' interest in the site, the price tag could certainly be much higher.

It really seems like anything the York's do off the field blows up in their faces. I'd feel bad if it wasn't so pathetic.

Two questions now exist: 1)How can the city of San Francisco leverage this in their favor? and/or 2) How can the 49ers work their way out of this little jam over the next few years? Even if they do work something out, another problem exists in the coming years. The pipes are scheduled to be replaced as part of the Hetch Hetchy system overhaul in 2009/2010. The work is scheduled to take upwards of 2 or 3 years, which could run into the deadline of a 2012 stadium opening.

Nonetheless, the first issue will be resolving this with the city. We'll see how willing the Board of Supervisors is to negotiate. Nothing is EVER simple when it comes to Bay Area politics.

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It's not that big of a deal

Don't get me wrong, it's a pretty interesting turn of events, but it's hard to believe that the Yorks (or whomever they hired as "surveyors") have overlooked this detail. It's one of the first questions you ask yourself before making any investment in ANY property: who do I have to buy it from? Now, the question is, why is it that the public is just now learning about it?

Thats somewhat difficult to answer, but I'd imagine its all PR manipulation. The team wants people to believe (especially the city) that they have the upper-hand. Revealing this detail would (or has) seriously reduced any advantage the may have had. It hasn't killed their chances of moving out of San Francisco, not necessarily.

Remember, the Yorks still wanted to call the team the San Francisco 49ers. If the city of San Francisco owns the land, they could still logically retain the naming rights to the team. When it boils down to it, it's near impossible to find a suitable site in San Francisco for a new stadium.

The 49ers are one of the most storied franchises in all of sports history, not just football. Yet, the city originally built the 'Stick for baseball use, not football. Even Kezar wasn't originally built for the 49ers. It's about time the city does something for the team that has brought actual championship WINS to the bay.

But of course, with today's politics, things like this just don't happen. If Peter Magowan and company didn't decide to privately finance the majority of PacBell/SBC/AT&T Park, the Giants actually may still be playing at the 'Stick as well.

by sfgfan on Feb 27, 2007 9:04 AM PST reply actions

well...

I'm sure this came up, though I do think it is possible that the Yorks didn't realize the complete idiocy and pettiness of the reaction by the SF public officials and their cronies in the legislature. Of course, SF will try to use this detail as leverage, but it will probably sour relations more than help.

That being said, however, I still say that the Santa Clara plan's biggest obstacle is still the parking situation.

Bring back Eddie D.

by nostocksjustbonds on Feb 27, 2007 1:32 PM PST reply actions

uh

most likely they'll just get Santa Clara to pony up for repairs to the pipeline, do it ahead of the proposed schedule, then sign another lease from the city for the next 37 years.

Bring back the classic Uni's!

by wjackalope on Feb 27, 2007 3:13 PM PST reply actions