As this is written, the NFL Football game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Pittsburgh Steelers has been twice interrupted by a power outage. A transformer blew up just before the start of the game, delaying it for 20 minutes. Then, during the middle of the 2nd Quarter, the lights went out again.
According to ESPN, no one at Candlestick Park is giving an explanation of what happened. Twitter has four terms related to the problem that are among the top 10 Twitter Trends.
Candlestick Park has been seen as a stadium that’s in terrible shape for some time, and it’s not just that it’s old, but that it’s poorly maintained, and the matter’s worsened with the California budget and economic crisis.
The condition has been so bad, that in 2010, the 49ers asked for a rent reduction siting “deficiencies in the stadium” according to The San Francisco Chronicle. The amount was a reported $10 million over five years. That level of money reduction means the City and County of San Francisco has less money for basic repairs, like to the electric system.
The bottom line is that Candlestick Park doesn’t have enough money to cover it’s basic level of repair and maintenance needs, and Nicholas Kinsey, an assistant director of property and concession management at SF Parks and Recreation, told the SFWeekly that Candlestick “is a very hard sell” for events. That means no more money for maintenance.
And the power outage problems seen on ESPN’s Monday Night Football.