Kezar Stadium

Kezar Stadium

Infobox_Stadium
stadium_name = Kezar Stadium
nickname =


location = 755 Stanyan Street
San Francisco, California 94117
broke_ground = 1924
opened = May 2, 1925
owner = The City and County of San Francisco
operator = San Francisco Recreation and Park Department
surface = Grass
construction_cost = $300,000 USD (original structure)
architect = Willis Polk
former_names =
tenants = San Francisco 49ers (NFL/AAFC) (1946-1970)
Oakland Raiders (AFL) (1960)
San Francisco Dragons (MLL) (2006—2007)
California Victory (USL-1) (2007)
San Francisco Freedom (PC) (2004)| seating_capacity = 59,942 (1925-1989)
9,044 (1990-present}

Kezar Stadium is a stadium located in the southeastern corner of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California. It is the former home of the Oakland Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL, and of the San Francisco Dragons of the MLL. It also served as the home of the California Victory of the USL First Division before the club folded. It also hosts amateur and recreation sports leagues, as well as numerous San Francisco high school football games (including the City Championship, known popularly as the "Turkey Bowl"). The stadium's name is a homophone of "KEY-czar".

History

In 1922, the San Francisco Park Commission accepted a $100,000 gift from the estate of Mary Kezar. The gift was intended to build a memorial in honor of Kezar's mother and uncles who were pioneers in the area. After the City and County of San Francisco appropriated an additional $200,000 the stadium was built in a year. Dedication ceremonies were held on May 2, 1925 and featured a two-mile footrace between Ville Ritola and Paavo Nurmi of Finland, who were two of the greatest runners of their day.

1930s

The stadium had many uses in the 1930s. In addition to track and field competitions, Kezar Stadium also hosted motorcycle racing, auto racing, rugby, lacrosse, soccer, baseball, boxing and football. The stadium was also the home field of several local schools such as Santa Clara University, University of San Francisco, St. Mary's College of California and the now defunct San Francisco Polytechnic High School. In 1926 the Stadium also became the home of the East-West Shrine Game.

American football

In the 1928 city championship game between San Francisco Polytechnic and Lowell High School a crowd of over 50,000 people saw the matchup between the bitter cross-town rivals. That game still holds attendance records for a high school football game in Northern California.

Kezar Stadium was also the home to two different professional football teams. The San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders both began their existence at the stadium. The Raiders played at Kezar during their first season and at Candlestick Park during their second season, before Frank Youell Field was built as a temporary facility in Oakland. The 49ers moved to a more modern and accessible stadium at Candlestick Park in 1971 after losing the 1970 NFC Championship Game to the Dallas Cowboys, 17-10, on January 3, 1971 in their final game at Kezar.

1970s

"Dirty Harry"

Several scenes from the film "Dirty Harry" were filmed there later in 1971. The film's fictional antagonist, the Scorpio Killer, works as the caretaker at the stadium.

Concerts

With the loss of professional football in the 1970s the stadium became an outdoor concert venue with many well known acts of its time performing there. Its proximity to the Haight-Ashbury District probably helped with the stadium's transformation to a concert venue. Noted musicians who performed at Kezar included Led Zeppelin, The Doobie Brothers, Jefferson Starship, Tower of Power, Joan Baez, The Grateful Dead, Carlos Santana, Neil Young and the only San Francisco show by Throbbing Gristle.

Demolition and reconstruction

Beginning in June 1989, Kezar Stadium was demolished and rebuilt with a much smaller seating capacity of 10,000. The upgrades included an eight-lane, all-weather track and a large grass athletic field suitable for soccer, football and lacrosse. [ [http://football.ballparks.com/NFL/SanFrancisco49ers/oldindex.htm Kezar Stadium at Ballparks.com] ]

The field and track configurations remained the same. A replica of the original concrete arch bearing the name "Kezar Stadium" was built on the west side of the stadium as a tribute to the original structure.

occer and other sports

With the 2006 West Coast expansion of Major League Lacrosse, Kezar Stadium once again became a home to a professional team, the San Francisco Dragons. In October 2006, United Soccer Leagues (USL) and Spanish Football club Deportivo Alaves announced that the new pro soccer team, named California Victory, played their 2007 home games at Kezar. The Victory played in the USL's First Division, one level below Major League Soccer. However, Alaves later withdrew their support and the team folded.

In 2004 it served as the home of the San Francisco Freedom, the city's Pro Cricket team.

Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, a nearby Catholic high school uses the field for their home football games. Saint Ignatius College Preparatory and Archbishop Riordan High School also use the field occasionally for their home football games. Kezar has also been the host of several Northern California Semi-pro football championship games.

Women's soccer

In recent years, the stadium has also served as home to Premier Division teams of [http://www.ggwsl.org Golden Gate Women's Soccer League] (GGWSL).

References

External links

* [http://football.ballparks.com/NFL/SanFrancisco49ers/oldindex.htm History and Photos]
* [http://www.gsafl.com/GSAFL_Kezar.htm The History of Kezar Stadium] by Rick Williams
* [http://www.sanfranciscodragons.com/ San Francisco Dragons homepage]
* [http://www.geocities.com/colosseum/5649/stadium_kezar.html SF Stadiums: Kezar Stadium]
* [http://www.stadiumsofnfl.com/past/KezarStadium.htm Stadiums of the NFL: Kezar Stadium]
* [http://www.ggwsl.org Golden Gate Women's Soccer League]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Kezar Stadium — Localización 755 Stanyan Street San Francisco, California 94117 …   Wikipedia Español

  • Kezar Pavilion — Kezar Pavilion, located adjacent to Kezar Stadium, is an indoor arena in the southeast corner of Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California. The Pavilion, built in 1924, seats 4,000. Currently, The San Francisco Rumble of the American Basketball …   Wikipedia

  • Proposed new 49ers stadium — New 49ers Stadium (Measure J) Location San Francisco Bay Area (Santa Clara, California) Opened 2015 (estimated) Owner TBA Operator San Francisco 49ers Surface …   Wikipedia

  • California Memorial Stadium — Memorial Stadium Strawberry Canyon Location 76 Canyon Rd, Berkeley, California 94704 …   Wikipedia

  • Multi-purpose stadium — RFK Stadium, a multi purpose stadium in Washington, D.C. Multi purpose stadiums are a type of stadium designed in such a way as to be easily used by multiple sports. While any stadium could potentially host more than one sport, this concept… …   Wikipedia

  • San Francisco Stadium at Candlestick Point — Candlestick Park Candlestick Park Candlestick, The Stick …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Candlestick Park — For the tornado, see Candlestick Park tornado. Candlestick Park The Stick …   Wikipedia

  • Chiefs–Raiders rivalry — Kansas City Chiefs–Oakland Raiders Regular Season History First Meeting September 16, 1960 Kezar Stadium San Francisco, California First Result DAL 34, OAK 16 Last Meeting Octo …   Wikipedia

  • Oakland Raiders — Current season Established 1960 Play in O.co Coliseum Oakland, California Headquartered in Alameda, California …   Wikipedia

  • NFL playoffs, 1970–71 — The NFL playoffs following the 1970 NFL season led up to Super Bowl V.This was the first playoff tournament after the AFL NFL Merger. An eight team playoff tournament was designed, with four clubs from each conference qualifying. Along with the… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”