The 49ers yesterday gave members of the media tours of a full-scale model suite for their proposed stadium in Santa Clara -- "complete with a pair of flat screen TVs, theater-style seating and porcelain tiles," according to Julia Prodis Sulek of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. A "9-foot 'touch wall' created by HP allows potential owners to touch an image of the suite or seat location and ... see a virtual view of the field from there." Santa Clara City Council member Kevin Moore said that "many successful companies already have signed up for suites." The 49ers have promised that the luxury boxes in the new stadium "will be as nice as any in new stadiums across the country." While the suites at Candlestick Park "have been refurbished since they were built in the early 1960s, many are about half the size of the new ones with barely any entertaining space." The suites at the new stadium "will be outfitted with designer finishes and full-size refrigerators," and "if you feel like another beer, just touch the screen in your new luxury box and it will be delivered." The 49ers have sold "about $173 million worth of suites" since the model opened "nearly a year ago, including $40 million worth in the past two months alone." 49ers officials refused to "reveal a price tag on any suite or even hint at a range, but reports are swirling that they run from $160,000 per season to $500,000 per season with long-term leases." The "nearly 500 square-foot suites ... come with 16 seats." In January, "season ticket holders will also get to tour the preview center and choose their seats in the new stadium, which -- if all goes according to plan -- is expected to open for the 2015 season" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 9/28).
