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A team's identity is extremely important. It helps their fan base feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves. Franchises always have a location that they and their fans can call home.
While teams may want to stay in the same city their entire existence, business comes into play. Franchises will always want modern stadiums, including expansion and upgrades and sometimes those deals with their home city fall through.
The team will then look for a close replacement home, similar to what happened with the San Francisco 49ers. The Niners played in San Francisco from their inception in 1946 until 2013. After a deal for a new, modern stadium in San Francisco couldn't be reached, they decided to move to nearby Santa Clara. However, the 49ers did not drop San Francisco from their name, they just play their home games in a different city.
Here is more on Santa Clara and how far it is from the 49ers' "home" of San Francisco.
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How far is Santa Clara from San Francisco?
Santa Clara is about 45 miles southeast of San Francisco. By car, it would take about an hour to get from one city to another, but Highway 101 in California is a straight shot between the two.
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Is Santa Clara part of San Francisco?
Though the city of Santa Clara is relatively close to San Francisco, it is not considered a part of San Francisco. Santa Clara is actually just to the northwest of San Jose, so if Santa Clara were considered a suburb of a nearby city, it would be San Jose, not San Francisco.
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Where do the 49ers play?
The 49ers play at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. The franchise was formed in 1946. From then until 1970, the team played its home games at Kezar Stadium, which is in San Francisco. The 49ers then moved to Candlestick Park in 1971 and played their home games there until 2013. Candlestick Park, like Kezar Stadium, was located in San Francisco.
The franchise wanted to move to a new, more modern stadium that was closer to the team headquarters and training facility. Negotiations with San Francisco fell through, and the team moved to Santa Clara as a result.
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Why do the 49ers play in Santa Clara?
While playing in San Francisco, the 49ers had long held their yearly training camp in Santa Clara. It allowed them to get away to focus on football, but stay somewhere familiar. When the Niners came to the conclusion that they wanted to move away from Candlestick Park, they couldn't come to an agreement with San Francisco on a new, modern stadium.
Kevin Moore, a former vice mayor, had an idea for the franchise. According to NBC Bay Area, Moore hand-delivered a letter to the 49ers' front office detailing why they should consider a move to Santa Clara. He cited good road access, a nearby convention center, and a lot of high-tech companies that could buy up the luxury suites. He was fine being the franchise's backup plan, and when talks with San Francisco fell through, the franchise took Moore up on his offer and moved to Santa Clara, though they kept the San Francisco name in their identity.
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