Jed York Reiterates 49ers' Commitment To Stadium In Santa Clara

49ers President Jed York Reaffirms Desire  To Build New Stadium In Santa Clara

49ers President Jed York yesterday said that the team is "completely focused on the plan to build a 68,500-seat stadium adjacent to Great America theme park, and any talk about fallback plans is secondary," according to Howard Mintz of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. York Friday identified Oakland as a backup plan for the team should the Santa Clara move fall through, and yesterday reiterated that Oakland, "because of its existing transportation hubs, is 'a much better site' than Hunters Point" in S.F. But he insisted that any Oakland plans "will only come into play if Santa Clara falls through." York: "Obviously, we'd look at any site, but we want to make sure we get everything done in Santa Clara." Raiders Chief Exec Amy Trask in an e-mail said that the Raiders are "working on their own new stadium and 'are keeping an open mind as to the possibility of sharing a stadium'" with the 49ers. But officials from both sides added that there are "no firm plans on the subject as the 49ers-backed ballot initiative begins to circulate in Santa Clara" to build the $937M stadium. Mintz notes York's comments about Oakland "did catch the backers" of the Hunters Point proposal "off guard." Former 49ers President Carmen Policy, a consultant on the S.F. stadium project, said, "My reaction is that I have been placed in a position where I've almost never found myself in the past. I'm somewhat speechless. I can't imagine the 49ers could think that way." Meanwhile, York yesterday also dismissed reports that Majestic Realty "has included the 49ers on a list of seven targeted teams to lure" to the proposed stadium in City of Industry. York said that 49ers ownership "intends to keep the team in the Bay Area" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 12/22).

TIME FOR ACTION: A S.F. CHRONICLE editorial states while the "good news for San Francisco 49er fans is that the team appears committed to staying in the Bay Area," the "bad news for San Francisco is that the team's fallback option is across the bay in Oakland." The "infrastructure concerns cited by York are very real," and they "must be addressed if the Hunters Point site is to gain serious consideration." York's comments "spelled out the challenge for San Francisco's elected leaders: It's not enough to talk a good game." If S.F. officials "want to keep the 49ers, as they should, they need to show that the serious access problems can be solved" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 12/22).