49ers break ground on new stadium in Santa Clara

Candlestick has still never failed to deliver memories, good and bad, from "The Catch" by Dwight Clark to win the 1982 NFC Championship and the first earthquake captured on live television during pregame warm-ups for Game 3 of the 1989 World Series, coincidentally between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics.

All that has made the transition difficult for some fans.

"I realize this is a bittersweet day for a lot of people," York said. "I want to make this clear: We are the San Francisco 49ers, and we will always be the San Francisco 49ers."

The cost of the Santa Clara stadium will be covered by three primary sources.

The team and the city received an $850 million bank loan. Santa Clara voters passed a plan two years ago for the city and area hotels to contribute $114 million, and NFL owners in February approved a $200 million loan — the first under the league's new G-4 loan policy initiated after the new collective bargaining agreement.

The G-4 policy replaces a plan that allowed a maximum of $150,000 per team in loans.

"It's a far cry from where I started at Kezar (Stadium)," former 49ers coach George Seifert said. "It's pretty awesome."

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