49ers Leaving San Francisco - or just posturing?

[RokSki]

Just heard on ESPN Radio that the 49ers have ended negotiations with the city for a new stadium. Supposedly, they are going to move to Santa Clara or L.A. (Would the Santa Clara move have anything to do with the A's stadium in Fremont?)

Anybody have any info on this?

 

[Idaho]

L.A. 49ers?

Just crossed the wire:

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers ended negotiations with the city about building a new stadium and plan to move to either Santa Clara or somewhere else in California, The Associated Press learned Wednesday night.
Owner John York notified Mayor Gavin Newsom of the team’s decision earlier Wednesday, a city official close to the negotiations told The AP on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made.
Team spokesman Aaron Salkin declined to comment Wednesday night.
The sides had been talking over the last few months about building a privately financed stadium at Candlestick Point that was going to be part of the city’s bid for the 2016 summer Olympics.

Edit: beat me by 44 seconds.

 

[RokSki]

Re: 49'ers Leaving San Francisco - or just posturing?

Every dog has its day, Idaho. I guess today was mine. Ruff, ruff. : ) Don't worry, it won't happen again.

 

[wickedwritah]

Re: 49'ers Leaving San Francisco - or just posturing?

Damn, the Yorks have messed up that franchise.

 

[Idaho]

Re: 49'ers Leaving San Francisco - or just posturing?

Candlestick is the worst facility in the NFL. Methinks L.A. football fans and the NFL is looking at this verrrrry closely.

 

[BYH]

Re: 49'ers Leaving San Francisco - or just posturing?

Would anybody give a ****? I mean, besides Chris Berman?

 

[Highway 101]

Re: 49'ers Leaving San Francisco - or just posturing?

To the 49ers:

PLEEEEEEEEASE DON'T LEAVE THE BAY AREA!!! That's the homer in me. I'll think about it clearly on Thursday.

There's one answer BYH.

 

[BYH]

Re: 49'ers Leaving San Francisco - or just posturing?

haha sorry Highway. My apologies for dumping on you.

What I probably should have said is can you imagine this happening 10 years ago, when the Niners were the NFL's model franchise. Oh well, gives us hope the arrogant Patriots will fall someday too.

 

[RokSki]

Re: 49'ers Leaving San Francisco - or just posturing?

Wicked - You got that right. The York's run the 'Niners like it's just another business, pinching every penny. But the responsibility for this situation falls squarely on Eddie DeBartolo himself: If he doesn't get convicted of a felony and squander a substantial amount of his fortune at around the same time, he still owns the team. Guy just didn't keep himself in check, so sister and hubby York scoop up the team.

It was embarrassing to see Michael Silver (who owes his Sports Illustrated job to covering the Super Bowl - era 'Niners) shilling for Debartolo about 4 months ago, saying how DeBartolo was but a 'minor' felon, and how he really should be able to reacquire the 49'ers, or that if he doesn't do that, he might even purchase the Raiders. Real slumming stuff for Silver, playing DeBartolo's "Trial Balloon" boy. Not one of his finer moments. But Silver had either just come back from, or was just about to attend, a 49'ers Super Bowl teams' reunion, and he had to pay his DeBartolo fealty tax, so he did his duty.

Idaho - Totally agree. Brutal stadium. Not sure if it was worse for baseball or football. I remember seeing a MLB game there in the middle of summer in the 80's and I thought I was going to get frostbite.

I think the league and a new commissioner eager to make his mark will be looking very hard at this. I wouldn't be surprised to see Al Davis try to get in on it too, and offer to move Oakland back to LA and have San Fran do something in Santa Clara. This is going to get very interesting.

 

[Bubbler]

Re: 49'ers Leaving San Francisco - or just posturing?

Nancy Pelosi becomes Speaker of the House and her football team exits stage left.

Stupid liberal Congress!

 

[RokSki]

Re: 49'ers Leaving San Francisco - or just posturing?

BYH - Columbo would care, as would Berman. Other than that, maybe a couple of bored and hungry seagulls. The Raiders, who don't look as bad having another embarrassing team in the general vicinity to hide their own ineptness?

 

[Double J]

Re: 49'ers Leaving San Francisco - or just posturing?

Maybe the team should move to Vegas and change its name to the Sin City 69'ers.

 

[Highway 101]

Re: 49'ers Leaving San Francisco - or just posturing?

BYH,

There's an exit off Highway 101 to Candlestick!

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Re: 49'ers Leaving San Francisco - or just posturing?

Wicked - You got that right. The York's run the 'Niners like it's just another business, pinching every penny. But the responsibility for this situation falls squarely on Eddie DeBartolo himself: If he doesn't get convicted of a felony and squander a substantial amount of his fortune at around the same time, he still owns the team. Guy just didn't keep himself in check, so sister and hubby York scoop up the team.

Blame Eddie DeBartolo for some bad non-financial moves as well. After all, wasn't he the owner who tried so badly to get the taxpayers to cough up new digs that he tried to count votes of the deceased in an attempt to push it through?

That man and Carmen "Make My Own" Policy are scum. Kudos to any diehard fan of the franchise, but excuse me for laughing at karma biting the the organization in the a_s.

 

[RokSki]

Re: 49'ers Leaving San Francisco - or just posturing?

Blame Eddie DeBartolo for some bad non-financial moves as well. After all, wasn't he the owner who tried so badly to get the taxpayers to cough up new digs that he tried to count votes of the deceased in an attempt to push it through?

That man and Carmen "Make My Own" Policy are scum. Kudos to any diehard fan of the franchise, but excuse me for laughing at karma biting the the organization in the a_s.

Man, I forgot about that voting fiasco. All DeBartolo's and Policy's scandals just seem to run together. Was that DeBartolo, too? What a freaking joke him and Policy, etc. were and are.

Sam, I'm completely with you on this. I despise DeBartolo and Policy, and their fraudulent "Winning with Class" bullsh*t. They are utter scum.

I got into an argument with 49'ers fan "Columbo" on here the other day regarding the 49'ers salary - cap cheating ways, specifically regarding the 1994 'Championship' team. I haven't had time to follow - up on his "I'm rubber, you're glue" comments to me, but that time will come.

Good to see some others who haven't fallen for the hype, either.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Re: 49'ers Leaving San Francisco - or just posturing?

I don't want to use the term "fraud" - it's thrown around this board entirely too much - but there was something very fishy about DeBartolo and Policy. When Policy was asked if he was mortgaging the future to get all those players under the cap in '94 and how he was paying all these players within the rules, Policy almost exploded at the media. Scum. Pure scum.

And DeBartolo? Good grief ... talk about inheriting Daddy's money and tossing it all out the window. One can't help being born with a silver spoon in one's mouth - don't most of us wish we were? - but one can avoid acting above the law when one has that kind of money and resources at his disposal. Good riddance. Yes, current ownership is a bunch of skinflints and have run that franchise into the ground, but to the best of our knowledge, the Yorks aren't criminals.

Whether or not Policy blatantly broke the rules and/or spirit of the salary cap can be debated forever. Policy splintered the spirit of the cap, but as to whether he out-and-out broke it I cannot say - if I were a capologist, I think I'd be working for one of these organizations that seems to have great difficulty crunch numbers instead of making the pitiful numbers in my checkbook work without constant fear of red ink.

But one thing is for certain: The way in which Policy threw money around sold that franchise up the river for years. So as far as I'm concerned, the Niners are experiencing the other side of the blade. Let them slip into the woodchipper.

 

[Crimson Tide]

Re: 49'ers Leaving San Francisco - or just posturing?

Move 'em to Boise. I mean, the WAC is big-time football now, so surely they're ready for a pro team.

Seriously, I'm not sure I fully understand how The L.A. wouldn't want a pro team. Could someone clue my dumb ass in?

 

[buckweaver]

Re: 49'ers Leaving San Francisco - or just posturing?

Seriously, I'm not sure I fully understand how The L.A. wouldn't want a pro team. Could someone clue my dumb ass in?

A) It's November. Sun's still out. ... I went to the beach on Sunday. I might do it again next Sunday. Who needs football?

2) Who needs football? We got 'SC if we want big-time football. We got UCLA if we want Triple-A football. San Diego's not *that* far away, really. ... We got every other sport, too. ... No NFL? Oh well, I'll catch the Lakers instead. I can watch Pats-Colts on hi-def anyway.

III) If the NFL did come, where would they play? ... Coliseum? Too ghetto. No way I'm trekking down there for the relocated Ain'ts or Niners. ... Rose Bowl? Pasadena would revolt with game-day traffic coming in Saturdays AND Sundays. ... Anaheim? Maybe. But Angelenos wouldn't claim that team, you can bet. ... New stadium -- where? Carson? The I.E.? Not a chance.

No NFL, no problem.

It's been 12 years since we had a team here. Ain't hurtin' the league. Ain't hurtin' us.

 

[wickedwritah]

Re: 49'ers Leaving San Francisco - or just posturing?

The bringing-the-NFL-back-to-L.A. ship sailed a long time ago. Ain't happening.

USC's surge under Coach Fredo -- they're running a professional program, anyway, if Yahoo's Bush investigation is to be believed -- makes it more of a certainty.

They've already got a generation of L.A. kids who grew up without the league in their backyard, and I'm sure they can deal with another one.

And I don't have impirical evidence on this, but I've heard ratings in L.A. have gone up since the Raiders/Rams bailed.

 

[Armchair_QB]

Re: 49'ers Leaving San Francisco - or just posturing?

Actually, The 49ers are already in Santa Clara. They just play in San Francisco.