The Candlestick Park violence last Saturday after the Oakland Raiders-San Francisco 49ers game has already resulted in a suspension of the series. Now it looks as if the entire fan experience for Niners fans is about to be radically altered.
There will still be tailgating allowed for Niners fans, but it is now restricted to four hours before kickoff and ends when the game starts. Eric Branch tweeted that tailgating during and after the games has been banned. Security will also be beefed up during tailgating period. Tim Kawakami tweets that during tailgating periods, there will be 2-officer teams patrolling the areas to spot potential issues, and these places must be vacated before kickoff (either by going into the stadium or leaving the areas).
On some level, this does make sense. Candlestick has never been in the safest location for an NFL stadium, and it's probably for the best that there's no extracurricular activity happening in the parking lot during a football game. Besides, if you're at an NFL game, it probably makes sense to watch it inside right? And tailgating after the game can probably lead to trouble. Still, it's a very sudden development that could take time for 49ers fans to get used to.
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