The San Francisco 49ers currently play their games atCandlestick Park, but its headquarters and practice facility isalready located in Santa Clara. The team's Candlestick lease runsthrough the 2008 season. The team holds three five-year optionsthat could extend it through 2023.

The football team first announced its plans to relocate to SantaClara in early November2006, saying that plans for a new stadium at Candlestick lackedamong other things the surface parking for fans' traditional pre-and post-game tailgate parties. Shortly after the team'sannouncement, San Francisco scrapped its bid for the2016 Olympics. The bid envisioned hosting the opening and closingceremonies at the new stadium.

In March2007, in an attempt to turn the team's focus back into the cityfor which it is named, the city and its redevelopment partner,Lennar Corp., announced a revised plan that would move the stadiumto Hunter's Point, a contaminated 500-acre site the Navy iscleaning up and conveying to the city's redevelopment agency instages. The stadium would be encircled with expansive fields ofreinforced grass that would be used for tailgating on game days andfor sports and other recreation the rest of the year. The Navypromised to expedite the clean-up and conveyance of the proposed27-acre stadium parcel by June 2009 to facilitate the footballteam's goal of playing in a new stadium in 2012.