The 49ers last night opened Levi's Stadium "with the nation's eyes focused on the team's new high-tech stadium," according to a front-page piece by Mike Rosenberg of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. Pregame festivities for Bears-49ers included "franchise luminaries" such as Pro Football HOFers Jerry Rice and Joe Montana. The ceremony started at 5:01pm PT "in a nod" to Levi's. There were "fireworks on the field and a thumping halftime concert by rapper Snoop Dogg." Local celebrities such as former MLBer Barry Bonds also "pumped up the crowd of 70,799, which was bigger and louder than it had been in previous stadium events." But post-game-traffic -- still the "single-biggest concern" related to the new venue -- had its "first big test with fans leaving at the same time for the first time Sunday, and it didn't look pretty." While transit rides "appeared smooth, some fans who drove reported huge waits to get out of the parking spaces, saying it took two hours or more just to leave their lot." Some fans "claimed they wouldn't return until the situation was fixed" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 9/15). NBCBAYAREA.com's Bunker & Cestone noted it "appeared the amount of planning, practice, and preparation into stadium transportation plans paid off coming into the stadium." But for drivers "leaving the stadium after the game, it was a different story." Some fans "were at a standstill for about an hour" in the stadium parking lot. Attendants said that the handicapped lot "had filled completely" by about 2:00pm, and they "had to turn handicapped fans around to go find other parking" (NBCBAYAREA.com, 9/14).
WINE & CHEESE CROWD? In S.F., Ann Killion in a front-page piece notes the "best seats between the 40-yard lines were often vacant, even during key moments in the game" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 9/15). In S.F., Scott Ostler writes the crowd "has some work to do." Long before halftime, "huge chunks of empty red seats appeared in the club-seat sections behind the Bears bench." Thousands of fans who "paid $80,000 for seat licenses apparently fled to their private bunkers." A "serious question about the new stadium was how friendly it would be to the 49ers, or, more realistically, how unfriendly to visiting teams." Ostler: "Would the more-than-double ticket prices, over Candlestick’s, drive out the noisy lunatic fringe and drive in the golf-clapping caviar crowd?" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 9/15). In San Jose, Mark Purdy writes the crowd last night was "cheering loudly and frequently and (given the ticket prices) expensively" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 9/15).
RAVE REVIEWS: In S.F., John King wrote Levi's Stadium "resembles nothing so much as a supersized erector set," which is "not a bad thing." What "rises from the hazy sprawl of Santa Clara is a triumph of structural engineering, muscular and lean, formidable enough not to be overwhelmed by a sport that wants to be an unstoppable cultural force." The architectural "ambitions are real, even if they're in a setting where overhyped spectacle is the name of the game." The main concourse is "not the claustrophobic press of similar spaces at AT&T Park." Commercial "clutter is business as usual for a sport where sightlines are made to be filled with merchandise, where no surface that can be emblazoned with branding is left free." Levi's is "both structurally and architecturally impressive." Most "impressive of all, those design qualities shine through the other distractions" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 9/13). In Sacramento, Ailene Voisin writes the NFL's "newest, splashiest and most politically correct theme park offers something for everyone" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 9/15).
VISITORS NOT WELCOME: NBCBAYAREA.com's Lisa Fernandez noted there is "plush red carpeting" inside the 49ers' locker room, which also includes "90 10-foot-tall walnut-wood lockers in a sprawling 3,600 square-foot open space." Meanwhile, the visiting locker room is a "divided space so that the team can't connect and communicate," and includes "beige walls and carpeting," and lower ceilings. Levi’s Stadium Project Exec Jack Hill said of the visiting locker room, "I would say mundane finishes. We want these guys to be calm and underwhelmed." But Hill said that they "couldn’t make the locker room too uncomfortable," as it is slated to host Super Bowl L in '16 (NBCBAYAREA.com, 9/12).
ONE MAJOR VIP NOT IN ATTENDANCE: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was scheduled to attend last night's game, but ended up cancelling the trip at the last minute. NBC's Bob Costas said, "When the NFL schedule came out months ago, tonight's story line seemed simple enough: the 49ers officially opening their new stadium. But while the pageantry of the occasion is still ongoing here, it's taking place after a series of developments this week that have tarnished the image of an image-conscious league. Commissioner Goodell was originally scheduled to be here for the opening of the new stadium, but this week's unfolding news led to him cancelling at least some of his engagements including his trip to San Francisco” (“Football Night In America,” NBC, 9/14).
