Now more than ever, the Bay Area needs a blueprint for a new generation of sports facilities that can meet the needs of all our professional teams and bring economic and community benefits throughout the region. The days of one-team, city-financed stadiums are long gone. The future of professional sports lies in the creation of innovative, multi-purpose facilities that are developed with fans in mind, in partnership with the region, and with the strong support of the private-sector.
TheSan Francisco49ers will probably be the first Bay Area team to benefit from a “next generation” stadium. While the team continues with plans to build its own stadium inSanta Clara, a shared 49ers/Raiders facility is looking more and more likely. Serious discussions are now underway to bring the two teams together under one roof in a deal with the National Football League (NFL). Three cities –Santa Clara,San FranciscoandOakland– are actively putting plans in place to develop a state-of-the-art, joint-use stadium once a deal is inked.
What does the Bay Area have to gain from a shared football arena? Just ask the New York Tri-State Area, which last year opened the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The $1.6 billion joint-use stadium – home to the NFL Giants and Jets – is delivering economic benefits in its first year, and recently won its bid for the 2014 Super Bowl, estimated to bring in $550 million alone in economic stimulus. Seattle’s Qwest Field – home to the NFL Seahawks and Major League Soccer’s (MLS) Sounders – is another multi-purpose stadium delivering substantial economic and community impacts to the broader King County region in the Pacific Northwest.
But the Bay Area needs to think about more than professional football. In a region that is home to 11 professional sports teams and more than 7 million people, we will need “next generation” facilities for basketball, soccer, and other sports. There are many possibilities. The Warriors could join forces with the Giants to develop a world class basketball arena nearAT&TPark. The antiquated Cow Palace could be demolished and the site used for tax paying residential and commercial development and many of its events relocated to the Oakland Coliseum Arena and other venues.
As the 49ers continue to move ahead with its plans for a single-team stadium inSanta Clara, the Bay Area is getting its wake up call when it comes to the future of professional sports. Economic times, fan expectations and financing models have all changed. It’s time for our region’s teams, mayors and other regional planning agencies to create a blueprint for a new generation of professional sports facilities that will benefit all Bay Area residents and communities for years to come.
How We See It 
I understand UC Berkeley is in the process of building a new state of the art facility for their football squad. The Niners and Raiders should piggyback on this building.
It helps the school and keeps both teams local.
They should build the 49ers/Raiders stadium in the parking lot at Oakland Colosseum. It’s the perfect venue. Linked to BART, freeways,rail (Capitol Corridor). It is close to the water so a ferry service could run and in a few years there will be a direct elevated tram from Oakland airport to BART. Closer to SF than San Jose. Plus lots of cheap land that could be developed. They could build a connected shopping mall and underground parking. It would be amazing.