What happened to Candlestick Park? History of 49ers' former stadium

Super Bowl 60 will be played at Levi's Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, marking the second NFL title game at the venue. The outdoor stadium 42 miles south of San Francisco will host the NFL title game for the first time since Super Bowl 50.

The 49ers have played home games at Levi's Stadium for the last 12 seasons. Prior to this run, the franchise actually played its home games in San Francisco, most of them at Candlestick Park.

It never hosted a Super Bowl but the 49ers called Candlestick Park home from 1971 through 2013.

All of the 49ers' Super Bowl-winning teams played their home games there. Hall of Fame players Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Steve Young, Terrell Owens, Ronnie Lott, Bryant Young and Patrick Willis spent most of their careers playing at the stadium.

The franchise had originally planned to build a new stadium on the Candlestick Park site but negotiations with San Francisco fell through and the team moved south. Santa Clara has been home to the team's administrative offices and training facilities since the late 1980s.

Here's what to know about the 49ers' longtime home:

What happened to Candlestick Park?

The final 49ers game at Candlestick Park happened in Week 16 of the 2013 NFL season. A "Monday Night Football" matchup between the Atlanta Falcons and the 49ers was a thriller as linebacker Navarro Bowman's pick-six sealed a 34-24 victory for San Francisco.

It's since been coined "The Pick at The Stick" in the final game at the 49ers' long-running home stadium.

The Pick at the Stick to close out Candlestick https://t.co/GYEOvdAbEIpic.twitter.com/5WkYshOzTC

- Tizzle (@TizzleFC) November 13, 2025

The final event at the stadium, a Paul McCartney concert, closed out the stadium in August 2014. The stadium was demolished in 2015.

Where was Candlestick Park?

Candlestick Park was in the southwest corner of San Francisco in the Candlestick Point State Recreation Area (SRA). It's called Candlestick Point due to the high population of long-billed curlews (also known as "candlestick birds") in the area.

Candlestick Park history

Candlestick Park was built to host the New York Giants baseball team (now the San Francisco Giants) for the 1958 season. The Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 in the first sports game at the venue. Then-Vice President Richard Nixon threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

The Giants called the stadium home from 1960 through 1999 before moving to their current home, Oracle Park, in 2000.

The then-Oakland Raiders played the first football games at the stadium in 1960 and 1961 before moving across the San Francisco Bay to Oakland in 1962.

Starting in 1971, the 49ers played all of their home games at Candlestick Park. The franchise became the venue's lone sports team after the Giants moved to Oracle Park in 2000.

Candlestick Park was the planned site for Super Bowl 33 but the game was moved to Miami after stadium renovations were not made.

Super Bowl 19 between the 49ers and Miami Dolphins was held in the San Francisco Bay Area but not at Candlestick Park. Instead, the 49ers' second Super Bowl title came at Stanford Stadium.

San Francisco 49ers record at Candlestick Park

From 1971 through 2013, the 49ers played nearly 700 games in the regular season and playoffs combined, including 360 at home.

Here's how they performed at home in both the regular season and playoffs in that span:

• Regular season: 206-142-2
• Playoffs: 20-7

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Candlestick Park history: What happened to 49ers' former stadium?