In what is being referred to as a "soft groundbreaking," Santa Clara officials are expecting that the coming week will bring with it the first major step on the road to the new San Francisco 49ers stadium, reports Mike Rosenberg of the Mercury News.
City leaders are expecting to approve $10 million in current and future funds (including $6 million that the city will borrow from the team itself) to ensure that the construction site adjacent to the Great America theme park in Santa Clara will be fully prepared for the beginning of official stadium construction in early 2013.
With a project this size comes a large amount of preparation and planning, as well as construction, building and installation that must be completed before the actual groundbreaking can begin. The prep work is only a drop in the bucket compared to the full cost of the stadium, but still carries with it some risks. If the San Francisco 49ers are unable to secure the money they need to cover the cost of the stadium by the end of next year, all the prep work and that $10 million will have been in vain.
Still, 49ers fans can look at the approval of these funds as some tangible proof that the Niners and the city of Santa Clara have every intent of making the new stadium a reality.
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