Kezar Stadium
Facility statistics
Location	755 Stanyan Street San Francisco, California 94117
Broke ground	1924
Opened	May 2, 1925
Owner	The City and County of San Francisco
Operator	San Francisco Recreation and Park Department
Surface	Grass
Construction cost	$300,000 USD (original structure)
Architect	Willis Polk
Tenants
San Francisco 49ers (NFL) (1946-1970) Oakland Raiders (AFL) (1960) San Francisco Dragons (MLL) (2006—) California Victory (2007—)
Seating capacity
59,942 (1925-1989) 9,044 (1990-present}

Kezar Stadium is a stadium located in the southeastern corner of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California. It is the former home of the Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers of the NFL. In addition to being the host of amateur and recreation sports leagues it is also the current home of numerous San Francisco high school football games (including the City Championship, known popularly as the "Turkey Bowl"), the California Victory, a soccer team, and the San Francisco Dragons of the MLL. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1280x948, 248 KB) Kazar Stadium in San Francisco, California Source: USGS orthographic aerial photography, collected via NASA World Wind. ... Nickname: The City by the Bay; Fog City Location of the City and County of San Francisco, California Coordinates: City-County San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (D) Area    - City 600. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... May 2 is the 122nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (123rd in leap years). ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Nickname: The City by the Bay; Fog City Location of the City and County of San Francisco, California Coordinates: City-County San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (D) Area    - City 600. ... An area of grass-like plants Grass generally describes a monocotyledonous green plant in the family Poaceae, botanically regarded as true grasses. ... ISO 4217 Code USD User(s) the United States, the British Virgin Islands, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Panama, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the insular areas of the United States Inflation 3. ... City San Francisco, California Other nicknames Niners Team colors Cardinal Red, Metallic Gold and Black Head Coach Mike Nolan Owner Denise DeBartolo York and John York General manager none Mascot Sourdough Sam League/Conference affiliations All-America Football Conference (1946-1949) Western Division (1946-1948) National Football League (1950-present... NFL logo For other uses of the abbreviation NFL, see NFL (disambiguation). ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... City Oakland, California Team colors Silver and Black Head Coach Art Shell Owner Al Davis General manager Michael Lombardi League/Conference affiliations American Football League (1960-1969) Western Division (1960-1969) National Football League (1970-present) American Football Conference (1970-present) AFC West (1970-present) Team history Oakland Raiders (1960... AFL logo The American Football League (AFL) was a professional league of American football that operated from 1960 to 1969. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... The San Francisco Dragons are a lacrosse team based in San Francisco, California. ... Major League Lacrosse is a professional field lacrosse league played in the United States. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... 2007 (MMVII) will be a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Telstra Stadium in Sydney, Australia is capable of being converted from a rectangular rugby football field to an oval for cricket and Australian rules football games A modern stadium (plural stadiums or stadia in English) is a place, or venue, for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts or other events, consisting of... An aerial view of the Golden Gate Park The Golden Gate Park is the largest urban park in San Francisco, California, USA. At 1017 acres (4. ... Nickname: The City by the Bay; Fog City Location of the City and County of San Francisco, California Coordinates: City-County San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (D) Area    - City 600. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... City Oakland, California Team colors Silver and Black Head Coach Art Shell Owner Al Davis General manager Michael Lombardi League/Conference affiliations American Football League (1960-1969) Western Division (1960-1969) National Football League (1970-present) American Football Conference (1970-present) AFC West (1970-present) Team history Oakland Raiders (1960... City San Francisco, California Other nicknames Niners Team colors Cardinal Red, Metallic Gold and Black Head Coach Mike Nolan Owner Denise DeBartolo York and John York General manager none Mascot Sourdough Sam League/Conference affiliations All-America Football Conference (1946-1949) Western Division (1946-1948) National Football League (1950-present... NFL logo For other uses of the abbreviation NFL, see NFL (disambiguation). ... United States simply as football, is a competitive team sport that is both fast-paced and strategic. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The San Francisco Dragons are a lacrosse team based in San Francisco, California. ... Major League Lacrosse is a professional field lacrosse league played in the United States. ...

History

In 1922 the San Francisco Park Commission accepted a $100,000 gift from the estate of Mary Kezar. The gift was intended to build a memorial in honor of Kezar's mother and uncles who were pioneers in the area. After the City and County of San Francisco appropriated an additional $200,000 the stadium was built in a year. Dedication ceremonies were held on May 2, 1925 and featured a two-mile footrace between Ville Ritola and Paavo Nurmi of Finland, who was one of the greatest runners of its day. Vilho Eino Ville Ritola (January 18, 1896 – April 24, 1982) was a Finnish athlete, specialised in the long distance events. ... Paavo Nurmi (June 13, 1897 – October 2, 1973) was a Finnish runner. ...

The stadium had many uses in the 1930's. In addition to track and field competitions, Kezar Stadium also hosted motorcycle racing, auto racing, rugby, lacrosse, soccer, baseball, boxing and football. The stadium was also the home field of several local schools such as Santa Clara University, University of San Francisco, St. Mary's College of California and the now defunct San Francsico Polytechnic High School. In 1926 the Stadium also became the home of the East-West Shrine Game. Athletics, also known as track and field or track and field athletics, is a collection of sport events. ... Start of a Motocross race Motorcycle Racing A Motor Cross Bike A Speedway Bike There are a variety of sports involving racing motorcycles. ... Auto racing (also known as automobile racing, autosport or motorsport) is a psuedo-sport involving racing automobiles. ... Rugby football, often just referred to as rugby, refers to sports descended from a common form of football developed at Rugby School in England. ... For other uses, see Lacrosse (disambiguation). ... Football is a ball game played between two teams of eleven players, each attempting to win by scoring more goals than their opponent. ... A view of the playing field at Busch Stadium II St. ... Professional boxing bout featuring Ricardo Domínguez (left) versus Rafael Ortíz Boxing, also called Western Boxing, prizefighting (when referring to professional boxing) or the sweet science (a common nickname among fans), is a sport and martial art in which two participants of similar weight fight each other with their... United States simply as football, is a competitive team sport that is both fast-paced and strategic. ... A view of Mission Santa Clara from the Kenna Lawn. ... The University of San Francisco (often abbreviated USF, or sometimes USFCA) is a private, coeducational Jesuit university in the United States. ... Saint Marys College of California is a private, coeducational college located in Moraga, California. ... The East-West Shrine Game is an annual post-season college football all-star game played each January since 1926. ...

In the 1928 city championship game between San Francisco Polytechnic and Lowell High School a crowd of over 50,000 people saw the matchup between the bitter cross-town rivals. That game still holds attendance records for a high school football game in Northern California. Lowell High School (San Francisco) Lowell High School is a public magnet school in San Francisco. ... Northern California, sometimes abbreviated NorCal, refers to the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. ...

Kezar Stadium was also the home to two different professional football teams. The San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders both began their existence at the stadium. The Raiders played in San Francisco venues until a suitable facility was built in Oakland. The 49ers moved to a more modern and accessible stadium at Candlestick Park in 1971 after losing the 1970 NFC Championship Game to the Dallas Cowboys, 17-10, on January 3, 1971 in their final game at Kezar. City San Francisco, California Other nicknames Niners Team colors Cardinal Red, Metallic Gold and Black Head Coach Mike Nolan Owner Denise DeBartolo York and John York General manager none Mascot Sourdough Sam League/Conference affiliations All-America Football Conference (1946-1949) Western Division (1946-1948) National Football League (1950-present... City Oakland, California Team colors Silver and Black Head Coach Art Shell Owner Al Davis General manager Michael Lombardi League/Conference affiliations American Football League (1960-1969) Western Division (1960-1969) National Football League (1970-present) American Football Conference (1970-present) AFC West (1970-present) Team history Oakland Raiders (1960... Oakland, founded in 1852, is a major American city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in Northern California in the United States. ... Monster Park (colloquially, The Stick or Candlestick, after its original name of Candlestick Park) is an outdoor sports and entertainment stadium located in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. ... City Irving, Texas Other nicknames Americas Team, The Boys Team colors White, Royal, Navy, Metallic Silver-Green Head Coach Bill Parcells Owner Jerry Jones General manager Jerry Jones Mascot Rowdy [1] League/Conference affiliations National Football League (1960-present) Western Conference (1960) Eastern Conference (1961-1969) Capitol Division (1967...

Kezar Stadium, as shown in the film Dirty Harry

Several scenes from the film Dirty Harry were filmed there later in 1971. Image File history File links Kezar_1971. ... Image File history File links Kezar_1971. ... Dirty Harry is a 1971 film directed by Don Siegel. ... Dirty Harry is a 1971 film directed by Don Siegel. ...

With the loss of professional football in the 1970's the stadium became an outdoor concert venue with many well known acts of its time performing there. Its proximity to the Haight-Ashbury District probably helped with the stadium's transformation to concert venue. Noted musicians who performed at Kezar included Led Zeppelin, The Doobie Brothers, Jefferson Starship, Tower of Power, Joan Baez, The Grateful Dead, Carlos Santana, Kyle Warner, Britney Spears, and Bob MarleyAfter suffering extensive damage in the Loma Prieta Earthquake of 1989 it was rebuilt with a much smaller seating capacity. The upgrades included an eight lane, all weather track and a large grass athletic field suitable for soccer, football and lacrosse. With the 2006 West Coast expansion of Major League Lacrosse, Kezar Stadium once again became a home to a professional team, the San Francisco Dragons. In October of 2006, United Soccer Leagues (USL) and Spanish Football club Deportivo Alaves announced that the new pro soccer team, named California Victory, would play their 2007 home games at Kezar. The Victory will play in the USL's First Division, one level below Major League Soccer. The corner of Haight and Ashbury in 2005 The Haight-Ashbury is a district of San Francisco, California, USA named after the intersection of Haight Street and Ashbury Street, commonly known as The Haight or, in recent years, The Upper Haight. ... Led Zeppelin was an English rock band, and is one of the most successful and influential groups in popular music history. ... The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band, best known for hit singles like Black Water, China Grove, Listen to the Music and What a Fool Believes. They sold millions of records throughout the 1970s. ... Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band from San Francisco, a pioneer of the LSD-influenced psychedelic rock movement. ... Tower of Power is a horn-based soul band from Oakland, California. ... Joan Chandos Báez (born January 9, 1941) is an American folk singer and songwriter known for her highly individual vocal style. ... Jerry Garcia later in life The Grateful Dead was an American rock band, which was formed in 1965 in San Francisco from the remnants of another band, Mother McCrees Uptown Jug Champions. ... Carlos Santana in concert, Barcelona 2003 Carlos Augusto Alves Santana (born 20 July 1947) is a Mexican-American Grammy Award-winning musician and Latin-rock guitarist. ... Robert Nesta Marley, OM (February 6, 1945 – May 11, 1981), better known as Bob Marley, was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. ... The Loma Prieta earthquake occurred on October 17, 1989, in the greater San Francisco Bay Area in California at 5:04 p. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Major League Lacrosse is a professional field lacrosse league played in the United States. ... The San Francisco Dragons are a lacrosse team based in San Francisco, California. ... The United Soccer Leagues (USL) is directly affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) and the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA). ... Deportivo Alavés, usually abbreviated to Alavés, is a Spanish Segunda División football club based in Vitoria (Gasteiz) in the Basque Country. ... Locations of Major League Soccer teams Major League Soccer (MLS) is the top soccer league in the United States in the American Soccer Pyramid. ...

External links

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 37.76685° -122.4560°
  • Satellite image from WikiMapia, Google Maps or Windows Live Local
  • Street map from MapQuest or Google Maps
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image from TerraServer-USA

• History and Photos
• The History of Kezar Stadium by Rick Williams
• San Francisco Dragons homepage
• SF Stadiums: Kezar Stadium
• Stadiums of the NFL: Kezar Stadium

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