San Francisco city officials voted unanimously Tuesday to allow the 49ers to break their lease a year early at Candlestick Park in 2014, when construction should be finished on the new Santa Clara stadium.
SF Supervisor Mike Farrell penned the proposal that released the team early. Under the new terms of lease, the 49ers will still be required to pay the city of San Francisco the minimum rent on Candlestick for their 2014 season.
The impending departure of the 49ers is an unwelcome reality in San Francisco for the teams faithful fans, a group that includes the officials who voted to allow the early exit. This new legislation, though, suggests the city may be on its way to making peace with the move, with lawmakers conceding and accepting that the 49ers will soon play 35 miles south in Santa Clara.
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Not that the 49ers will come out of the broken lease with their wallets unscathed: As part of the provisions for the new lease agreement, the organization will donate 1 million to the Recreation and Parks Department, funding groups for San Franciscos youth.
If the donation wasnt enough, the sting of losing the popular football team may be assuaged slightly by the glimmer of possibility the Warriors may be heading back into the city, should a new arena be built on the bay waterfront, as the team has planned.