Kezar Stadium

670 Kezar Dr, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA

Address:	670 Kezar Dr, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA
Phone:	+1 415-831-5500
Site:	sfrecpark.org
Rating:	4.6

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 6

Bruce

"Where is this stadium located?" "Why, its located in Golden Gate Park!" Did you know that this was the "original stadium of the San Francisco 49ers for over two decades!" The Oakland Raiders also played at this stadium way back then. Visiting this old stadium today just brings back memories of what it mustve been like in the early years. There were many memorable games played at this stadium. It was just a nice place to visit and relive those old memories of yesteryear! In 1922, the San Francisco Park Commission accepted a $100,000 gift from the estate of Mary Kezar. The gift was intended to build a memorial in honor of Kezars mother and uncles who were pioneers in the area. After the City and County of San Francisco appropriated an additional $200,000, the stadium was built in a year. On May 2, 1925, dedication ceremonies were held and featured a two-mile footrace between two of the greatest runners of the era. In the 1930s, the stadium had many uses in addition to track and field competitions. The stadium hosted motorcycle racing, auto racing, rugby, lacrosse, soccer, baseball, boxing, cricket and football. In September 1932, the Australian Cricket Team played a Northern California All Star Team in the Australians 56 game tour of the U.S. and Canada. The stadium was also the home field of several local colleges such as Santa Clara, USF, St. Marys, and the now defunct San Francisco Polytechnic High School. In 1926, the Stadium also became the home of the East-West Shrine Game. In 1928, the city high school championship game between San Francisco Polytechnic and Lowell was played with over 50,000 in attendance. That game still holds attendance records for a high school football game in northern California. In 1928, Stanford University played four of its home football games at Kezar. In 1940, the stadium hosted the first-ever major college football double header, which featured Stanford vs. San Francisco and Santa Clara vs. Utah. Kezar Stadium was home to two professional football teams; the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders, both began their existence at the stadium. In 1946, the San Francisco 49ers football team was founded and Kezar Stadium was adopted as their home stadium. On September 8, 1946, the San Francisco 49ers played their first game against the New York Yankees ("Ya, thats right, the New York Yankees..... Did I stutter?"). One tier of bleachers could hold 59,942 fans and circled the entire field. The 49ers played 25 seasons at Kezar Stadium before moving into Candlestick Park in 1971. In 1960, the Oakland Raiders played at Kezar during their first season and at Candlestick Park during their second season, before Frank Youell Field was built as a temporary facility in Oakland. The most famous play at the stadium took place in 1964, when Minnesota Vikings defensive lineman Jim Marshall scooped up a fumble by Billy Kilmer and raced 66 yards in the wrong direction, into his own end zone for a safety. In 1971, the San Francisco 49ers moved to Candlestick Park after losing the 1970 NFC Championship Game to the Dallas Cowboys, 17-10. In 1989, before Kezar Stadium was demolished, it hosted many other events after suffering extensive earthquake damage. The stadium was reconstructed and provided seating for 10,000 fans. The new stadium featured an all-weather track eight lanes wide, a soccer field and two scoreboards. In April 1989, with pending demolition of the stadium, the bleacher planks of Kezar Stadium were sold off to fans at a party. The stadium was demolished in June of that year before being rebuilt. From 2003-2005, Kezar Stadium was also the home field for the "San Francisco Stingrayz" womens Professional Football team when the Stingrayz had to end their season short due to a bus accident in which they lost a number of players due to injuries. The Stingrayz was one of the first womens tackle football teams in the Bay Area in the Independent Womens Football League.

A Private User

This is my go to place when the mornings are foggy like today or when it is already dark. It is a track, you run around it and you do some stairs. It is sad that a place with so much potential is so badly taken care of. The restrooms are closed, the tartan is so used that it is now millimeter thin, at night only one side of the track is lit (so if you are doing stairs you are limited to one side with the rest of the people). I am not a gym fan, I already spend the whole day inside and it is nice that the stadium is sheltered, it is never too cold or too hot, but please give it some love. Most of the people that come here live near by, I am sure that if it was better taken care of it would bring a lot more people and it would make it more lively. The 71 stops right at its entrance door and the N 2 blocks away. It is a great place, please take care of it :)

Andrew Tran

Its a beautiful newly resurfaced track, and the stadium seating is currently being redone to get rid of the rickety (and breaking) wooden seats. However, the substitution of the wooden bench seating for the plastic fold-up seats is a bad idea. It definitely wont last as long, and stadium-type exercises/workouts will be more limited. My beef with the track is that the distance & hurdle markings are not all in the correct places. I love that we have access to a public track, but track etiquette is very poor in the general community and running clubs that come to work out here. Make sure you keep up-to-date on when the track & stadium are closed for sports/events on the parks & rec website each month!

Thai Truong

The track has a new feel to it with a great bounce. Water fountain next to the track at the northeast end has a bottle fill station. As a new person in the area, i had no clue how to get into the stadium. The entrances are on the west-most end and southeast corner. Among the runners, there are usually various workout groups here including SFPD, November Project SF, and other athletic groups. Some may be on the track and some along the outside, along the bleachers, or the stairs. Its a great place to go for a run and can mix it up by going through the Golden Gate Park trails. The stadium stays clean as the cleanup crew gotta through regularly I the mornings.

Jonathan Kong

If youre looking for a nice place to get a good work out outdoors, youll most likely hear Kezar stadium passed around. This stadium once hosted both the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders at some point. Now it is the meeting and training center of great many workout clubs ranging from runners, to cross country athletes, or even the random pick up football game. Open till 9:30pm, Kezar stadium is always packed with those with the similar goal in mind to work out and burn some calories. Ironically its located near many delicious food options for the post workout cool down!

Shawn Clover

When your feet have had enough punishment pounding the concrete city sidewalks, give them the rejuvenating treatment of the Kezar track. The modern track and rest of the stadium are impeccably maintained. The bleachers are perfect for sprints too. Listen closely for distant historic echoes of 49er fans cheering alley-oop touchdown passes from YA Tittle to RC Owens. Just stay out of lane 1 (unless youre running sub 6 minute miles) and respect the other runners and track teams who often train there. And taking a single step onto the grass is a big no-no.