49ers seek $120 million from NFL for Levi’s Stadium upgrades amid Super Bowl bid
Mar 29, 2023 at 10:21 AM
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Levi's Stadium is slated to host 2026 World Cup events. In addition, the San Francisco 49ers hope their home venue can host a second NFL title game—Super Bowl 60. That would come a decade after Levi's Stadium last hosted the big game, Super Bowl 50. The NFL is expected to announce the sites for Super Bowl 60 and 61 in May.
49ers CEO Jed York hopes to spruce up Levi's Stadium before either of those events by securing $120 million from the NFL's stadium fund.
"Generally, those are approved, and they go through committees, so I feel fairly comfortable that will be approved," York said Tuesday at the NFL owners' meetings in Arizona.
Why such a significant investment in a stadium that is only nine years old? Levi's Stadium opened ahead of the 2014 NFL season.
"When you spend a lot of money building a new stadium, you watch some of the stadiums that aren't upgraded, and it's very easy for them to fall in disrepair," York explained. "You want to make sure that you're investing and reinvesting in your stadium. I went through a stadium process. It's not a fun and making-you-younger-and-energetic type of process.
"So the more that we can enhance Levi's Stadium, and the more that we can put into the stadium and keep it our home for a long period of time, we're going to continue to do that."
York used Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs, as an example. Opened in 1972, continued investment in the venue has provided a superb fan experience.
"And I think that helps your organization," York continued. "It helps your community to continue to invest in something that you've sort of done together versus saying we're not going to do anything, and we're going to try to take as much money out of this as we can, and then in 20 years, we're going to go build a new one.
"That's just not a very sustainable model, certainly in Northern California. I don't think it's a very sustainable sort of outset in general. So we're going to continue to invest in Levi's and make sure that it's a great stadium for a long, long time to come."
As for Super Bowl 60, the 49ers are confident about their chances of hosting the title game. If not that game, then another.
"My optimism is very high," York said. "… I feel fairly confident. I don't know for sure that we're going to get Super Bowl 60, but I feel very confident that we're going to get a Super Bowl in the near future. And it would be great to get Super Bowl 60 after hosting Super Bowl 50."
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