In the latest move to keep the Giants baseball team in San Francisco, 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. is proposing that the two teams work together to build an improved football-baseball stadium, a newspaper reported Sunday.
DeBartolo told the San Francisco Examiner that his plan is still sketchy but that such a cooperative venture may be the only way to keep the Giants in the San Francisco Bay area."I know (Giants owner) Bob Lurie would prefer a baseball-only facility," DeBartolo told the Examiner from his Youngstown, Ohio, home. "But after losing four times to the voting public, including this recent one in San Jose, maybe Bob would consider going with a dual-purpose stadium for the Giants and 49ers."
He said both teams need a new "first-class" stadium.
"I don't see why we can't put something together and coexist in a stadium. And I don't mean Candlestick," DeBartolo said.
Lurie, contacted at Saturday's Giants game at Candlestick, had no comment.
He has said repeatedly in the past that he is interested in a baseball-only ballpark with an intimate environment for fans and players.
DeBartolo acknowledged that it would be difficult to provide Lurie with such a stadium and satisfy the 49ers' need for at least 72,000 seats.
"That would be a problem," he said. "But this is 1992, almost the year 2,000, and I believe architects and engineers can solve that. If we have a 72,000-seat stadium, we could become one of the regular sites in the rotation for hosting Super Bowls because people love San Francisco."
Although his proposal does not include a financing plan, DeBartolo said neither team should have to pay.
"Obviously, we don't want to spend money, and I'm not sure the Giants should, either," he said. "Other cities have worked these things out, and if we really try, I'm sure we can make it work in San Francisco."