Is Levi's Stadium ready for some football?
After an Earthquakes game saw a record number of purses seized and purse-less fans sent home via trains that took over an hour to materialize, Levi's Stadium officials are changing things up a bit before the 49ers' home debut on Sunday.
The San Jose Mercury News reports that the "traffic jams, parking confusion" and long waits for transit will hopefully be avoided after a review of traffic plans by stadium and Valley Transportation Authority officials.
The $1.3 billion stadium's dress rehearsal of sorts was the San Jose Earthquakes match two weeks ago against a European team, where 48,000 fans complained of "sold-out concessions, slow WiFi" and other ills.
But inside the stadium was paradise compared to the escape from it.
People using public transit were rewarded with a 90-minute wait to get onto a post-game train and then another hour ride home to their original station, the newspaper reported. Traffic flow also didn't quite move the way as promised by officials, who a few weeks ago boasted of timed lights and custom parking directions for each tailgating fan.
Now, with 70,000 people expected on Sunday, when a sold-out crowd will witness the 49ers play the Denver Broncos in a preseason game, police, traffic planners and vendors alike are working to make sure that everything works better.
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Some things will be new: for example, fans arriving via the Altamont Commuter Express. Great America's parking lot will also be open.
But if you were planning to take the kids for some summer fun at Great America, the amusement park will be closed. This will be the case during every 49ers home game.
In any event, it won't take two hours to get out of here "like it did at Candlestick," one official told the newspaper.
Also new is the Red Zone Rally, which will be held every home game during the season.
Football fans can attend the rally at the new Pavilion at Great America. The event costs $85 and is open to the public.
This building was renovated specifically to host the rally which will include prime rib and shrimp. The 49ers cheerleaders will also be there too, along with some team alumni.
On Sunday, the rally will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. More than 1,000 people are expected to attend the event, which will include a ride on the Flight Deck roller coaster--something unique most fans do not get to do before a football game.
NBC Bay Area's Marianne Favro contributed to this report.
