The 49ers are "in talks" with Rock & Roll HOFer Paul McCartney to perform the opening concert at Levi's Stadium, which would "effectively yank the rug out from under San Francisco's plans" for him to headline a final send-off concert at Candlestick Park, according to Matier & Ross of the S.F. CHRONICLE. Mayor Ed Lee "personally invited McCartney" to close Candlestick, as the idea was to have him "say goodbye to the ballpark where the Beatles played their final paid concert" in '66. McCartney's reps and the city "had been talking since Lee made the offer, and City Hall was convinced that the show was all but a done deal." But things changed when McCartney's envoys, including "his worldwide concert promoter," Marshall Arts Ltd. Chair Barrie Marshall, "toured Candlestick last month and let slip that they had just visited Levi's Stadium as part of negotiations with the Niners for an opening concert there in early August." 49ers execs "insisted" to S.F. officials that they "had been approached about hosting a McCartney show by Live Nation," which has "a financial stake" in his management company. The 49ers also said that they "had a fiduciary responsibility to their sponsors -- including Levi's," which has a $220M naming-rights deal at the stadium -- to "host a certain number of concerts a year" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 4/13).
