Levi's Stadium: 'An affront to the common man'
Source: San Jose Mercury News
By Bruce Newman
... Even in Silicon Valley, things don't come much Bigger, or Nexter, than Levi's Stadium, the San Francisco 49ers' new $1.3 billion compound in Santa Clara. Completed in two years, it doubles the square footage of their former home at Candlestick Park -- matching Moore's Law like a state-of-the-art chip off the old block.
Every great civilization in history has relied upon monumental architecture to assert its power, from the Parthenon of ancient Athens to the cathedrals of France. In the same way, a colossus of concrete and crushing debt now bestrides many NFL cities -- including some, like Oakland, that face the possibility of abandonment, the remaindered stadium a staggeringly expensive symbol of municipal failure.
... At the ribbon-cutting ceremony in July, construction workers who built the "sports and entertainment cathedral" were summoned to parade across a red carpet in their hard hats and brightly colored safety vests. That heartwarming tableau brought a blue-collar vibe to the stadium that will be almost entirely absent on game days. In a single stroke, the 49ers doubled their season ticket revenue to just over $100 million, while actually slightly decreasing seating capacity. They also drastically increased the cost of so-called "seat licenses" required to maintain the privilege of buying season tickets at a huge markup over a season ago.
This was the free market at its most breathtaking, with about 25 percent of Candlestick season ticket holders squeezed out to make way for a new cadre of corporate fat cats. There's nothing quite like a whiff of class warfare to make these buildings seem like an affront to the common man.
Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/southbayfootball/ci_26307505/levis-stadium-provides-much-needed-sense-place-but
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