Alex Espinoza, 49ers.com

49ers CEO Jed York isn’t stopping to smell the roses just yet.

As his team prepares for its second straight playoff run in the Jim Harbaugh era and the new Santa Clara Stadium rises next to 49ers headquarters, York is staying busy to usher in the next chapter of the franchise’s proud history.  Pui-Wing Tam and Amir Efrat of the Wall Street Journal recently spoke to York about the exciting atmosphere surrounding the organization and the bright future ahead.

The Wall Street Journal focused much of the conversation on the new Santa Clara Stadium, which is on schedule to open in time for Week 1 in 2014.

“What we started with was really making sure that the fan experience was as great as it can possibly be,” York told WSJ. “We started with, first, the design of the building and making sure we have the largest lower bowl in the NFL—two-thirds of our seats are in the lower bowl. It’s designed more like a baseball stadium with open concourses. The concessions are in the back so when you’re in the concession line, you can see and feel the game going on behind you.”

Not only will the new Santa Clara Stadium be one of the greenest and ecologically-conscious outdoor venues in the world, but it will be one of the most technologically-savvy. York also spoke to the WSJ about the next-level capabilities of the stadium and how it will improve and innovate the fan experience.

“You won’t see hardware. You have your screen [through smartphones and tablets] and you already know how to use it,” York said. “But you want to have the technology stack that enables everything to work and then the 49ers [mobile device] app will allow you to watch different replays, see different game feeds, listen to the broadcast of what’s going on. When you’re looking at ordering a hot dog, a beer, a soda, being able to do that from your smartphone [and] potentially having a ticketless, cashless building.

“It doesn’t mean we won’t have tickets, and cash will be accepted, but you want to make sure you [can] use your smartphone device and tablet device for everything. You can leave your wallet at home. It allows you that opportunity.”

Click here to read the rest of York’s interview

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