The Atlantic: Opinion: Alan Taylor: The Lights Go Out on Candlestick Park

Source:The New Democrat

I have mixed feelings about Candlestick Park. Even as someone who has actually never been there. But heard a lot of things about the park both good and bad from people who are much familiar with it than me. As well as seeing a lot of NFL and MLB games played there on TV.

The good aspects about it I think are fairly clear. If you look at the original design of the park from 1960, when the San Francisco Giants moved in for baseball, it is a pretty attractive ballpark and it was baseball only, as far as sports. I'm thinking had the 49ers not have moved in there as well and they kept up with the maintenance of the park, perhaps put up a wall beyond the bleachers in the outfield to keep the wind out played more day games, this would've been a beautiful classic ballpark, that perhaps is still in business today like Dodger Stadium.

The 49ers moving into this park and expanding the capacity to over seventy-thousand seats, including 63-64 thousand for baseball, which is way too big because of all the nosebleed seats in the upper deck, as well as all of those cold even in the summer San Francisco night games, really ruined what once was a beautiful ballpark. But despite all the flaws of this stadium, this was one of the better stadiums both in the MLB and NFL as far as fan atmosphere and attendance. This was a very loud outdoor stadium for both football and baseball and the fans seemed to like it. At least when their teams were good. This was a great home field advantage for the 49ers. Who've had most of their success at Candlestick. With all of those Super Bowl championships and big regular season and playoff games there.

I'm thinking had, the 49ers just of stayed at Kezar Stadium, which was beautiful and football only. Sort of like the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, but about half the size, but renovated it made it up to date for the 1970s with skyboxes and everything else and Candlestick never became a multipurpose stadium, the Giants might still be at Candlestick and the 49ers might still be at Kezar today. Both clubs playing in two of the best looking stadiums in both MLB and the NFL. But no, one of the key terms of the 1970s is cookie cutter. Multipurpose artificial stadiums was the trend in the 1970s. And San Francisco went the same route. Even though all they had to do was renovate Kezar and keep up on the maintenance of both Kezar and Candlestick. Instead of making Candlestick look like a big hole, or dump that got made fun of.