San Francisco will abandon its bid to bring the 2016 Olympics here in the wake of the 49ers' announcement that the team no longer plans to build a new stadium in the city, the group leading the Olympic effort announced today.
Scott Givens, managing director of San Francisco's bid, said last week's surprise announcement regarding the stadium -- until then a central part of the group's San Francisco Olympic bid -- irreparably damaged the city's reputation with the U.S. Olympic Committee.
The reason for the drop? The cost of a light rail extension from the T line and the lack of tailgating!
The team's largest objection to the San Francisco site, they said, was the high cost of bringing transit and parking infrastructure to the Point. York also cited the loss of traditional parking lots, saying tailgating would not be an option for fans if the stadium was located in San Francisco.I sometimes wonder if San Francisco is really transit first, if one of its most beloved institutions, the 49ers are so beholden to the car. At least you'll be able to get to AT&T park on a PCC at some point in the future. But I won't be going to watch the 5k.
3 comments:
And what does this say about football fans?
Tailgating is a ritual where small groups of people get together in semi-private to consume quantities of food and usually beer. Transporting all of this stuff requires a sizable vehicle. Plus, what is the size of the average tailgater?
I guess a possible solution would be to have designated picnic areas. Then these folk could bring their somewhat more modest snacks by public transit. A small amount could be charged for use of the picnic areas, and the beverages could be purchased. But prices would have to be reasonable, something that rarely happens in major league sports facilities.
That is Sad!
Well, I don't know if tailgating requires the amount of parking they think it does. You could even have designated tailgating areas. I would think that the folks who tailgate might also have a ritual and are season ticket holders so perhaps they could be given tailgate priority. Maybe there are tailgating stalls for them in the lot? It seems though that the answer doesn't have to be a sea of parking, however parking I do believe will exist and can be used for tailgating.
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