Post by TheShadow on Jan 30, 2007 19:43:22 GMT -5
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO -- The San Francisco 49ers have filed a legal claim against their home city over leaky luxury boxes, flooded parking lots and other maintenance problems at city-owned Monster Park -- the latest skirmish in the battle with the city over a new stadium.
The claim filed Monday alleges the city has violated terms of the stadium lease by failing to make a range of necessary repairs after years of complaints, costing the team revenue.
The 47-year-old stadium on Candlestick Point suffers from rusty light towers and steps, cracked walkways, clogged drains in concession stands and broken escalators and elevators, according to the complaint. In the past, broken equipment has fallen into areas where fans could have been injured if the collapse had happened on game day, the team said.
"The level of deferred maintenance and neglected maintenance is and has been unacceptable," Murlan Fowell, the 49ers' vice president of operations, wrote in a letter to the city.
A spokeswoman for the San Francisco city attorney's office said the matter was under review. City officials in the past have denied violating the lease.
The 49ers this month extended their lease for five years at Monster Park, but team officials said they were continuing to focus on the possibility of building a new stadium in Silicon Valley near the team's Santa Clara headquarters.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has asked the 49ers to build a new stadium at the city's old Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, a location rejected by the team two years ago over concerns about limited freeway access and toxic waste at the site.
The team also denied reports Monday that 49ers officials were in discussions with the Oakland Raiders about sharing a new stadium at the Santa Clara site.
SAN FRANCISCO -- The San Francisco 49ers have filed a legal claim against their home city over leaky luxury boxes, flooded parking lots and other maintenance problems at city-owned Monster Park -- the latest skirmish in the battle with the city over a new stadium.
The claim filed Monday alleges the city has violated terms of the stadium lease by failing to make a range of necessary repairs after years of complaints, costing the team revenue.
The 47-year-old stadium on Candlestick Point suffers from rusty light towers and steps, cracked walkways, clogged drains in concession stands and broken escalators and elevators, according to the complaint. In the past, broken equipment has fallen into areas where fans could have been injured if the collapse had happened on game day, the team said.
"The level of deferred maintenance and neglected maintenance is and has been unacceptable," Murlan Fowell, the 49ers' vice president of operations, wrote in a letter to the city.
A spokeswoman for the San Francisco city attorney's office said the matter was under review. City officials in the past have denied violating the lease.
The 49ers this month extended their lease for five years at Monster Park, but team officials said they were continuing to focus on the possibility of building a new stadium in Silicon Valley near the team's Santa Clara headquarters.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has asked the 49ers to build a new stadium at the city's old Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, a location rejected by the team two years ago over concerns about limited freeway access and toxic waste at the site.
The team also denied reports Monday that 49ers officials were in discussions with the Oakland Raiders about sharing a new stadium at the Santa Clara site.