OT - seeking advice about Levi's Stadium gameday logistics

Transit: helicopter in. Avoids traffic.

Early game: listen on radio. shows you are “old school” tough.

food: the world will end one day. eat at Arby’s. 

You can park at my house and walk over.

Oh, wait...that's for the Rose Bowl! 

BART doesn't go directly there. You need to take VTA which has major stations near mountain view and San Jose downtown. Tailgating is definitely a thing and the traffic is relatively good for an NFL stadium (not good, but relatively good)

If you go early, you can park at Mountain View cal train station, then take VTA light rail from there. You’ll have a long wait for a VTA train back after the game, but at least it’s not crazy expensive.

You can grab a pre-game meal/beer in downtown Mountain View.

Parking at Levi’s sucks - expensive and not really close unless you have a season pass.

Good luck, and enjoy the game!

you can't BART there - the stadium is directly adjacent to a VTA light rail station and a ACE/Amtrak station (Great America). VTA does overlap with a couple of Caltrain stops - Mtn View, SJ Diridon. Outside of those VTA typically doesn't have a ton of parking around it. VTA is a good option if you can get to a stop, saves you a lot of gameday traffic hassle. Everytime I've gone to Levi's its been via VTA - but be forewarned the VTA ain't fast, plan accordingly.

If you're coming from Pacifica, assuming you'll be taking 280 or 101? You could maybe park at Mtn View and VTA in, in which case you could hang out at Castro St for pre-gaming. You could try to Caltrain from Millbrae or some points north down to Mtn View and then VTA but that's going to add a lot of time - before the game you can plan it out, but afterwards I imagine you could be waiting for a train that comes I think once an hour on weekends in each direction. Drinking is allowed on Caltrain tho!

There are some bars about 1/2 mile walk from the stadium, I wanna say in the direction of the convention center, and in the stadium itself. Yes, there are definitely people tailgating in the parking lots around the stadium. Parking is expensive but if you're coming from Pacifica, I'd recommend driving to the stadium.

I’m a 49ers season ticket holder.  Park at this garage structure for free, the office building associated with it is unoccupied.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/A7PnLcnrbtRdvHkYA?g_st=ic

When you drive to and from this parking area use the Montegue Expressway exit not the Great America exit.  Much less traffic.

walk to Levi stadium is 25 minutes along San Thomas Aquino creek paved trail (proof of game ticket is required on game days for entry into last segment of trail to Levi).

Updated:  Yes of course going to game. Last row (23) of section 210 so protected by overhang from rain and provides some shade on hot days. And no one is behind me, ver my good place to stash stuff behind seats.

this is my dream game, niners vs lions, I’m happy with either team winning.

I'm looking to go too.  Need to get a ticket.

There's no BART station near the stadium. The only public transportation option is the VTA, and you would have to switch trains at least once. Having said that, Levi's Stadium is located in the middle of generic office park hell, so parking shouldn't be much of a problem provided you get there early enough. It would be best to just drive there.

I'm deleting my MgoBlog app immediately. I've become completely unhinged over what Jim Harbaugh is doing. I was completely wrong on how thought this would play out.

May the Chargers team rot in LA.

-There is definitely tailgating in the parking lots before the games, get a parking pass in advance, they are not cheap $50-100 at least, probably more for the playoffs.  If you bring some beer, snacks, you can meet people having tailgate parties and they are receptive to more people, just don't be an a-hole fan (ie. Raiderzzzz! loud) and you will be received well.

-Getting out after the game is a nightmare....so i would avoid it unless you are cool with waiting 90 mins post game to get into the traffic mess

-Coming from Pacifica, best way down is 280 south to 880/17 north towards SanJose/Oakland, get off at 1st street (about 5 miles from 880/17) and take a left on first street.  after about 10 blocks, there is an Matrix casino near 1st street and highway 101. Its on your left. Park at Matrix lot, its free and they won't hassle you and they patrol the lot.  The VTA tram station runs along 1st street.  Take VTA to the stadium, it will take you about 15 mins from there to get to the stadium.  After the game VTA back to your car and you will be out of the mess to drive home.

-Watching the AFC game beforehand is a bit more complicated, you can find restaurant bars in the area, but its not set up too well to get to Levis from any of them.  So i would go to the tailgating area early, make some friends with a TV and people will be showing the game there.

-If you don't mind walking 1.8 miles from my company office to Levi's, it takes about 30 mins, that is an option as well. If you are interested, text me (Michael 408-202-2405) and i will have your license plate number registered as my customer guest and you can park in my company's parking lot.  This is how i always go to the games. I like the walk and post game its a nice walk past all the car gridlock. Then its an easy drive back to the hwy away from the stadium traffic to head back up to Pacifica. 

Go Lions!  Should be a helluva game!

I've parked at the golf course and it's been ok. Tailgate there. Or do what others mention and park in Mountain View, eat/watch there, then take the VTA. You might uber back to your car if you can find one after the game. 

For clothing, it will get cool once the sun goes down so bring something warm. I realize it's not Michigan in winter, but it's not hot either. Pants, not shorts. Warm jacket. Layers. 

Frigid? It’s 28F in Marquette… barely even cold!

I have given this some thought, eh. Here is the move. Drive to Palo Alto Caltrains station and park. There should be plenty of parking between the station and the Stanford Mall (adjacent). There are plenty of good bars within walking distance (MacArthur Park, Zola) to watch the AFC game. Then you take Caltrains to VTA, connecting at Mountain View station to VTA.

You could drive to Mountain View, but it is kind of pants. The bars suck (even more than Palo Alto wine and cheese shit).  I imagine parking will be easier in Palo Alto. 

Here's the thing. You really do not want to drive to Levi's and park. Traffic is beyond terrible.

Only question is whether I sneak a late cheap ticket, eh. If prices drop below $400 I am in. 

Been twice and thought it was a good idea to catch flights out after the games, bad idea. Uber was an absolute nightmare. Couldn't find the cars, then they would cancel. As mentioned the light rail is tough to catch unless you leave the game early. If I did it again I would rent a car and park in the neighborhood across the pedestrian bridge. 

Edit: ehhh, after reading the post just above mine maybe don't drive. It really is a terrible setup there in general.

How were $$$$$$ tickets procured….. but parking is now an issue?

The most important thing you could bring is a suitcase full of TP.

I live here and have been to a few games, some answers as far as I know:

-If we go in early and want to catch some of the AFC Championship game, where are some good places to watch, grab food/drink, chill pregame?

Answer: nowhere close to the stadium, you'll need to do that 30-40 mins away in some place like mountain view, which is okay. The owners of the niners moved away from San Francisco to pretty much an hour and change away in the middle of a giant parking lot next to Great America. There's nothing close to to the stadium (by design, you basically park, enter through large escalators), zero neighborhood, 0 character song, zero, soul. It is an erector set of a building/stadium that has zero architectural style or panache, it almost looks temporary. Yes, I'm bummed they left when both the Chase center for basketball and the baseball stadium have been such resounding successes with awesome environments for attending games, neighbrohoods with tons of bars and places to eat and hang both before and after the hane. Niners games, not so much.

-If the low-cost far-out options are unappealing or non-existent, what would you recommend in terms of parking nearer the stadium? Do people tailgate at 49ers games?

You'll have to decide if you want to drive or take the VTA from mountain view to the stadium, someone talked about a parking ramp that was empty and that would probably be a good option, but go as late as possible and eat and drink as much as you can before you get in the stadium. People definitely tailgate, but if you are used to Michigan game tailgates it's not going to be quite on the same level.

No matter what, have a great time and Go Lions!!

EDIT: as someone else posted, Palo Alto is a much better option than Mt. View, even though it's a little farther (40-50 mins all told on the train) away, especially if you get on VTA there and ride in, you'll just have to leave earlier.

OT, but Levis Stadium has to be the most disappointing stadium built in the last 10-20 years.

• Built a million miles away from its previous location.
• It was designed for a different location completely in 2006, but when the team moved to Santa Clara, they kept the original design
• No one bothered to take into account the sun and orient the stadium in another direction when they chose Santa Clara over SF...now everyone bakes in the South Bay sun for the first third of the season.
• When looking at what the Giants and Warriors play in, Levis is a dump. Both of those teams 100% nailed it. This stadium is just as bland as you can possibly get.
  • Its like someone designed the stadium in Madden 2004's franchise mode, with the opinion that Beaver Stadium's erector set look is peak design aesthetics.
• The parking is laughable. They want you to take public transportation (understandably), but made parking such an afterthought.

Looking at what has been built since Levis opened in 2014, it already seems outdated:

• US Bank Stadium - Vikings
• Mercedes-Benz Stadium - Falcons
• SoFi Stadium - Rams (and Chargers)
• Allegiant Stadium - Raiders

Even the new Titans stadium looks like its going to be way better for a gameday experience.

While CA is different from southern cities in terms of stadium financing etc, I would not be surprised to see them pull a Rangers/Titans/Braves and get a new stadium within the first 20 years of their current stadium's lifespan.

Update: tickets at $425. I think this is happening !!!