It was pretty bizarre seeing the former home of the 49ers not only empty of cheering fans, but stripped of nearly everything but the bare infrastructure. The only sound echoing around the cavernous stadium was a crane's enormous claw tearing steel out of section 41. A few reminders of its 44 year legacy remained. Piles of seats that weren't sold off to fans sat in the end zones and the Ring of Honor still displayed the names of 49ers greats like Joe Montana and Jerry Rice.
Jermaine Smith, Site Development Manager for Lennar Group, the company in charge of Candlestick Point's redevelopment, explained that all notable memorabilia had been removed from the stadium. The main work now was removing hazardous materials like asbestos insulation so further demolition could continue. Previous plans to implode the stadium with a series of surgical blasts have been scrapped in favor of a less dramatic disassembly. Smith explained, "This is a more precision demolition. No swinging wrecking balls." The process is expected to take about three months with cranes and high-reach excavators.
The decision not to send The 'Stick out with a bang was made largely because of environmental concerns. The area is notorious for being one of the windiest parts of San Francisco and dust from an implosion would have certainly blown into neighboring Bayview Hunters Point. The footprint of the stadium is still slated to be a mall when all is said and done and it will likely be visited by more than a few nostalgic 49ers fans trying to determine which yard line the new Sunglass Hut is standing on.
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