Candlestick Park demolition plans briefly considered Super Bowl halftime implosion

Candlestick Park is going to be demolished in the coming months, with plans to start at the end of January, and potentially take up to two months to complete. Lennar Corp. is handling the demolition, and they will be going the wrecking ball route. Apparently, however, there were initially plans to go with a more theatric implosion.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Lennar wanted to implode the stadium because it would make it easier to clear out the property, and fewer trips for trucks clearing out debris. One plan considered was to implode the stadium at halftime of the Super Bowl. The plan that never came to fruition was to blow it up on national television.

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your viewpoint), there were challenges by neighbors and an environmental group. There were concerns about noise and the spread of what they believed would be toxic dust. The Golden Gate University Environmental Law and Justice Clinic pointed to a 2005 report about the health issues surrounding implosions in urban settings. While there has only been one report on the matter, that combined with neighborhood complaints was enough to scuttle the idea.

It would not surprise me that there are environmental effects, but it is still disappointing. I grew up in Las Vegas in the 80s, and spent plenty of time there in the 90s and 00s, and I am a fan of the implosion. Here is a video of what someone described as the Top 10 Las Vegas casino implosions. I recall watching one in the early 00s, but can't remember what casino it was.