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COSTA MESA, California -- The San Francisco 49ers professional football team announced on Thursday they would move to Santa Clara, California by 2012 in a decision that could impact San Francisco's bid for the 2016 Olympics.
San Francisco officials had hoped the 49ers would build a new stadium at their current home in Candlestick Point capable of hosting Olympic events, such as opening and closing ceremonies, but a feasible plan was not forthcoming.
"The Candlestick Point project will not accommodate the next generation NFL stadium," team owner John York told a news conference.
He called Candlestick Park "the oldest and worst stadium" in the National Football League and said the decision to build a modern stadium in Santa Clara would allow the 49ers to remain in the region and retain San Francisco in their name.
San Francisco's Olympic backers were disappointed by the 49ers' decision.
"We were very surprised," Jamie Rupert, director of communications for the San Francisco bid, told a news conference in Orange County, California.
"We now have to look at all the options. All options are on the table," Rupert said, noting her bid team heard about the 49ers planned move late on Wednesday, midway through a two-day seminar hosted by the United States Olympic Committee for the three potential U.S. candidates.
The other cities in the running are Chicago and Los Angeles.
Asked whether San Francisco would consider withdrawing from the bid process, she replied: "We don't have all the information right now and it would be premature to speculate.
"I don't think that we're under a timetable. It's all about making the right decision," she said.
New ballpark
Across the San Francisco Bay, the owners of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics are considering moving the team 20 miles south to Fremont, California, where they could build a new ballpark.
An announcement is widely expected to be made next week. They currently share Oakland's McAfee Coliseum with the NFL's Oakland Raiders and a move would allow the A's to have a baseball-only venue.
They would also be closer to San Jose, California, the San Francisco Bay area's most populous city.
Its only professional sports team is the National Hockey League's San Jose Sharks and many officials there have long sought a professional baseball franchise.
Santa Clara is near San Jose so the 49ers would be well situated to take advantage of local pent-up demand for additional professional sports.
A boost for San Jose could cripple San Francisco's long-held Olympic hopes.
The U.S. Olympic Committee will decide whether to move forward with a 2016 bid by the end of this year. If the committee decides to go forward, a candidate city would be selected in April 2007.
The United States last hosted the Summer Games in 1996 in Atlanta. New York staged an unsuccessful bid for the 2012 Games, won by London.
The International Olympic Committee will choose the 2016 host city in 2009. Madrid has signalled its intention to bid again and there also is interest in Italy, India, Japan and Brazil.
