49ers Transform Dugout Into Suite As Part Of Stadium Upgrades

Renovated Dugout Seats 20 People, Costs $12,000 Per Game

The 49ers have "transformed an old baseball dugout into a field-level suite at Candlestick Park that the team is selling to groups of 20 fans for $12,000 a game," according to Don Muret of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. The "premium-seat package tops a list of several improvements to the 49-year-old stadium," which include a new team HOF near the main entrance and an "expanded Absolut Gridiron Grill on the mezzanine level." 49ers COO Andy Dolich said that the team "shared the $500,000 expense for the upgrades with the city, which owns the building, and the team’s food providers, concessionaire Centerplate and premium caterer Union Street." Dolich said that the upgrades are "part of the team's effort to enhance the fan experience in a facility that will be the 'oldest un-retrofitted stadium in the NFL' after the Jets and Giants open" their new Meadowlands Stadium next year. Dolich: "We're constantly walking the building looking for opportunities." Muret notes after getting "approval from the NFL, the 49ers converted the old visitors dugout on the stadium’s southwest side, most recently used for photographers on game days, into a premium space by installing 20 cushioned seats in groups of four, and counter space in front of those chairs." 49ers VP/Stadium Operations & Security Jim Mercurio said that the team has sold the field-level suite "for all but two home games." Muret notes the 49ers "aren't the only NFL team developing inventory to sell for field-level spaces inside an older dual-purpose facility," as the Dolphins are "doing something similar at Land Shark Stadium, developing two new field-level standing-room-only packages." Meanwhile, the 49ers' plan for a temporary home for the Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. 49ers Hall of Fame "will be the first step toward creating a destination containing artifacts and memorabilia to acknowledge the team’s 63-year history" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 8/31 issue).

GAINING IDEAS: 49ers President Jed York visited Cowboys Stadium during the team's preseason game Saturday night against the Cowboys, and he discussed how the club might be able to take ideas used in building that facility to incorporate in the 49ers' proposed new stadium in Santa Clara. York said of Cowboys Stadium, "There are a couple things there that are very interesting -- a lot of fan-friendly plaza areas and things like that. You can have lower-priced, more affordable tickets so you can get fans that don’t want to pay the big seat-license prices that you hear a lot of people complain about." York said Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones has done a "nice job of incorporating everybody from a $29 ticket up to the very high-end" ("Chronicle Live," CSN Bay Area, 8/31).