The San Francisco 49ers may be preparing for next Sunday's opening game, but their front office will also be devoting this week to the continued push to build a new stadium in Santa Clara. On Wednesday, the city's planning commission is scheduled to consider zoning changes for the city's entertainment district that would be needed for the 49ers' proposed $937 million stadium adjacent to Great America theme park, as well as approval of the architectural design of the 68,500-seat facility. Santa Clara voters overwhelmingly approved the stadium deal in June, but now the team and city must finalize much of the fine print before NFL games land in Silicon Valley. If the 49ers and the city resolve all those issues and the team secures financing, construction would begin in 2012 and the stadium would open for the 2014 season. City planning staffers have recommended the planning commission approve the zoning changes for the project site, and the issue is not expected to be a sticking point in the stadium deal, which calls for a package of $114 million in taxpayer contributions. Source: Oakland Tribune
