GIANTS STADIUM

SBC Park is the first privately funded ballpark built for Major League Baseball since Dodger stadium opened in 1962. No new taxes and no money from San Francisco’s general fund were used to build the ballpark. The Giants lease the land on which the ballpark sits from the Port of San Francisco at a fair market value. SBC opened in 2000 and has become one of the most admired ballparks in baseball. SBC is located in downtown San Francisco, in the China Basin area. Construction on the steel, concrete, and brick ballpark began on December 11, 1997. Naming rights were sold to Pacific Bell for $50 million over 24 years, thus the ballpark was named Pacific Bell Park. After the 2003 season, Pacific Bell Park was renamed SBC Park after SBC Communications Inc. acquisition of Pacific Bell. On April 11, 2000, the Giants played their first regular season baseball game at SBC Park. Nestled in the China Basin area, right on the outskirts of downtown San Francisco, as fans approach the ballpark they see a magnificent steel and brick structure. At the main entrance gate, is a statue of Willie Mays. Also making up part of the exterior architecture of SBC Park is the The King Street clock towers. The two towers are 122 feet tall and feature pyramid-shaped roofs topped by 45-foot tall flagpoles. Once inside, the main three tier grandstand consist of 40,800 green seats that extend from behind homeplate to both the foul poles. Bleaches are located behind the left field fence. There are no seats behind the right field wall because of McCovey Cove, part of the San Francisco Bay. However, there is enough room where fans can walk behind the right field wall and can see through the screened and brick right field fence. The main scoreboard is located behind the centerfield fence. Their is plenty of entertainment to keep fans entertained at SBC Park. The Coca Cola Fan Lot is an interactive play area for children and adults. Fans of all ages can enjoy a slide into home plate from one of the four slides inside the 80-foot wooden Coca-Cola contour bottle; stroll up to the world's largest baseball glove, or check out the views of the San Francisco Bay area. When a Giant hits a homerun, strobes flash inside the Coca Cola bottle, bubbles appear to float from the bottle's mouth, and green and white lights flash up and down the neon tubes running along its ribs. SBC Park has become an excellent place to watch a baseball game because of the of the beautiful views of the San Francisco Bay and the surrounding area. In just its first few years of existence, the ballpark has seen its share of historic events primarily due to veteran Giants outfielder Barry Bonds. On April 17, 2001, Bonds hit his 500th career home run at then Pacific Bell Park. Later that year, he set the single season home run record when he hit home runs number 71, 72, and 73 over the weekend of October 5th to close the season. On August 9, 2002, Bonds hit his 600th career home run at the park. On April 12, 2004, Bonds hit career home run 660 at SBC Park to tie Willie Mays on the all-time list and on the next night, he hit number 661 to move into sole possession of third place. On September 17, 2004, Bonds hit his 700th career home run at the park to become just the third member of baseball's 700-club. SBC Park is served by more public transportation than any other ballpark in the country and is within walking distance of downtown and many city neighborhoods. Fans are able to take Muni Metro streetcars and trolley busses, BART (via an in-station link to Muni Metro), CalTrain, buses and ferries to the new ballpark. Those choosing to drive to the ballpark have easy access to SBC Park via the Bay Bridge, Highways 101 and 280 and major San Francisco thoroughfares, including Third Street and the Embarcadero. The Giants encourage the use of public transportation as the primary means of getting to the ballpark. In addition to the 6,500 parking spaces that currently exist within a 5-10 minute walk of the ballpark site, the Giants provide up to 5,000 additional spaces dedicated for ballpark use. SBC Park is located in one of the sunniest, warmest areas in San Francisco. Wind conditions are greatly improved from Candlestick Park, as modern design technology allows for construction which can block the wind effectively. The Architecture and Construction was undertaken by HOK Sport and Huber, Hunt & Nichols, Inc. and Kajima Construction Services respectively. SBC cost $255 million.