What 49ers Had to Say about First Game at Levi’s® Stadium
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
The San Francisco 49ers first football game at Levi’s® Stadium did not go as planned on the field. The 49ers fell to the Broncos in Sunday’s home preseason opener, 34-0.
But it did go well in the stands, as 68,426 fans came for the building’s first football game.
Here is what players and coaches had to say about their first experience with the fans in their new home.
49ers QB Colin Kaepernick: “It was great to be out there for the first time at the new stadium… It was a great atmosphere. I think we will have a lot more noise here than at Candlestick from what it sounded like today.”
Broncos QB Peyton Manning: “It was nice, nicer than nice. I had heard a lot about it and of course it was a great day for football. Yeah, beautiful setting and great sightlines for the quarterback on the field. I was very impressed.”
49ers RB Frank Gore: “It’s nice. The locker room is nice. I’m use to the old school at Candlestick (Park), but it’s nice. Hopefully we can bring a trophy here… (The turf) felt fast. It felt great out there. It felt great to me, but you know I’ve got great feet.”
49ers coach Jim Harbaugh: “Thought that everything worked good with the stadium. That phase went well… I thought the turf was good. Might’ve been a spot here or there, but overall very good.”
49ers LB Chris Borland: “We’ve been in here a few times, but today was special. To run out into a full stadium was pretty exciting.”
49ers RB Carlos Hyde: “The fans were into it. The fans definitely were excited, so that’s good.”
49ers DB Jimmie Ward: “I could tell from the look in everybody’s eyes that everybody was pumped and ready to go. It was just a great experience. For me, from my college (Northern Illinois) and where I came from there weren’t too many fans. This is a preseason game and that there were that many people to support us just tells you that they have pride in the 49ers.”
49ers QB Blaine Gabbert: “It’s a great environment. They did a wonderful job (of building it), but we’d like to put our positive footprint on it with a win.”
