| CITY OVERVIEW
Stay in San Francisco
|
San
Francisco is one of the most famous cities in the world, largely due to
its amazing urban setting within San Francisco Bay and the steep
hills that are traversed by its famous cable cars. It also has some world
famous sporting teams located within easy access, making it a must-see
sporting city. There
are so many attractions in San Francisco that it’s hard to do it justice
here. The icons that should be visited include a ferry trip on the Bay to
Alcatraz Island, which provides for a great personal tour at your own pace;
a trip across Golden Gate Bridge; Fisherman’s Wharf - a redeveloped and
touristy part of northern downtown; Golden Gate Park, a magnificent urban
park on the western edge of the City; and, of course, the cable cars that
traverse the hills of the downtown area. Like New York, however, it is within the many different types of
residential and cultural precincts where the real San Francisco is found.
In and around downtown, there is SoMa (South of Market St), which is a
combination of tall office buildings and residential lofts spilling over
from the Financial District; the large condominiums along the Embarcadero;
the gallery and museum area near Yerba Buena Gardens; and the late night
entertainment scene along Folsom and 11th Sts. In
the Mission District north-west of downtown, the18th-century Mission
Dolores is a remarkable example of the Spanish architecture that dominates
much of coastal California. Great Italian restaurants and cafes exist near
here in
North Beach. Any
fans of social movements or 60’s music must make a visit the psychedelic
Haight Ashbury, and the nearby Castro district. Located to the south-west
of the downtown area, Haight-Ashbury still has several tie-die clothing
shops and many mementos to 60’s. Nearby Castro is to the south-east of
the downtown and is the center of the large gay culture that exists within
San Francisco. It is a great area to just browse around, and as with most
gay precincts around the world, has its fair share of great restaurants
and cafes. A
few blocks north of Union Square in downtown is Chinatown. Like most
authentic Chinatowns, this one is densely packed with Chinese people,
shops, grocery stores and restaurants. Although a little touristy in some
parts, it is clear that Chinatown still plays an important role in
servicing the large local Chinese population. There
are a few gems across San Francisco bay worth visiting. Berkeley is the
home of the oldest University of California campus and has a great main
street entry full of street performers, book and old record shops and
cafes (Telegraph Avenue). Oakland is the grittier cousin of San Francisco
but is a large city in its own right and home to more sporting franchises
than San Francisco itself. |
| GETTING THERE
Fly to San Francisco Within USA
|
The
Bay Area has two major airports: San Francisco International Airport and
Oakland International Airport. San Francisco International Airport is on
the western edge of the bay, 22km south of the city centre. The simplest
way to get to the city is by the Airporter bus or shuttle vans. There are
also some more complicated bus-Caltrain rail connections that go downtown. Oakland
Airport has shuttle buses to the nearby BART station and is the best way
to get downtown. San
Francisco has one of the most modern rail systems in the US. The Bay Area
Rapid Transit (BART) system connects much of downtown San Francisco with
the growing metropolitan region east of the Bay (including Oakland,
Richmond and Fremont). Connections to the system are currently being
constructed to cater for the sprawling population still reliant on
downtown San Francisco. This system is supported by the Municipal Transit
Agency (MUNI) bus and cable car system, which gets to those areas not
accessed by BART. The Caltrans rail system connects parts south, such as
Daly City, Santa Clara and San Jose. |
| NFL
SAN FRANCISCO 49'ERS Ticket information through NFL
|
The
NFL’s San
Francisco 49ers has the
distinction of being the first major league professional sports franchise
on the West Coast. The 49’ers entered professional football in 1946 and
was granted a National League franchise in 1950. The team selected its
peculiar name as a reflection of the surge of goldminers to the San
Francisco area during 1849. The
49ers are clearly one of the glamour teams in US professional sports. They
earned the moniker ‘team of the 80s’ after claiming four Super Bowl
titles during that decade. They extended their dominance into the 90s,
becoming the only NFL team to produce 10-or-more wins for 16 consecutive
seasons (1983-98). Since 1981, the 49ers have won 13 division titles, five
conference championships and five Super Bowl championships (the first
franchise in NFL history to win five), claiming the title in 1981, 1984,
1988, 1989, and '94. San Francisco has posted at least 10 win seasons
seventeen times in each. They also produced one of the great quarterbacks
of all time – Joe Montana. |
| NFL
OAKLAND RAIDERS Ticket information through NFL
|
The
NFL Oakland
Raiders started life in 1960, integrating the former franchise from Minneapolis.
Since this time, the Raiders have thrived on the ‘bad boy’ image they
portray through their black and silver colours, their use of the ‘skull
and cross bone’ in marketing, and their reliance on defence to win
games. Raiders fans also thrive on projecting a similar image off the
field. The Raiders have parlayed this image into being a very successful team, having won Super bowls in 1976, 1980 and 1983. Between 1992 to 1994, the Raiders had a spell in Los Angeles as the LA Raiders, but before long they were back in Oakland trying to recapture the glory days of the early 80’s - which they have by being regular playoff contenders since 2000. |
| NBA
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS THE ARENA IN OAKLAND |
The
NBA’s Golden
State Warriors date back to
1946, where they were based in Philadelphia until 1962, when they moved
onto San Francisco. The history of the Warriors is an extensive one,
predating the NBA, covering both coasts, and featuring a range of players
that includes the league's first superstar (Joe Fulks) and the only player
to score 100 points in a game (Wilt Chamberlain). They changed their name
to Golden State Warriors in 1971 to reflect their move across the bay to
Oakland. They have won 3 championships – 1947, 1956 and 1975. In recent
years, the Warriors have had a lean period – they have not had a winning
season, nor made the playoffs, since the 1993-1994 season. |
| MLB
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS |
As
with many of the older west coast teams, the MLB’s San
Francisco Giants started
franchise life on the east coast as the New York Gothams in 1883. In 1885
they became the New York Giants, where they won 5 World Series. In 1957,
they made their shift to San Francisco, but haven’t been able to quite
repeat the success they had in New York, never having won a World Series,
although winning 2 Pennants and making 6 playoff series. The 1990’s have
been more promising for the Giants, producing several winning seasons and
making the playoffs in 1997 and 2000 whilst producing the greatest home
run hitter in a single season –
Barry Bonds in 2001. |
| MLB
OAKLAND ATHLETICS |
The
MLB’s Oakland
Athletics franchise has
traversed the country from east to west since 1901. Firstly, they were
located in Philadelphia until 1954, then in Kansas City until 1967 until
finally arriving in Oakland for the 1968 season. All up, the Athletics
have been a very successful franchise – second only to the New York
Yankees. They have won 9 World Series, 15 Pennants, and made 20 playoffs.
Their latest World Series win was in 1989 but they have been quite active
contenders recently, having made the playoffs in 2000 and 2001. Their most
famous player of recent history has been Ricky Henderson, who holds the
record for most stolen bases. Legends like Reggie Jackson and Mark McGwire
have also spent time with the ‘A’s’. |
| THE ARENA IN OAKLAND |
The Arena in Oakland hosts the Warriors and is located in Oakland at 7000 Coliseum Way in the southern section of the city of Oakland, across the Bay from Downtown San Francisco. It is adjacent to the Oakland (Network Associates) Coliseum. Opened in 1966, the Arena was completely renovated in 1997 to have a capacity of 19,200. Transit to the New Arena is provided from downtown San Francisco on the BART train system. From downtown San Francisco take the Green or the Blue line to Coliseum/Oakland Airport and follow the directions to the Arena. |
| NETWORK ASSOCIATES COLISEUM |
Network
Associates Coliseum
hosts the Raiders and Athletics and is also
located at 7000 Coliseum Way. Opened in 1966, the Coliseum, more commonly
known as the Oakland Coliseum, has a capacity of 48,000. The same
directions for getting to the Arena apply to getting to the Coliseum. |
| 3COM PARK |
3Com Park hosts the 49ers and is located 10 miles south of downtown San Francisco near Daly City at 602 Jamestown Av. Opened in 1960, the Park is best known as Candlestick Park (named after a type of bird that inhabits the area), one of the windiest stadiums in the Country because of its stunning location on San Francisco Bay. It has a capacity of 70,000. Although the weather can change markedly within a matter of minutes, the Stadium has a good reputation with spectators, and is considered one of the best nighttime stadiums because of its excellent lighting system. By public transit, there is a bus service available from downtown (Sutter & Montgomery) on the Route 9X to Ball Park, (Van Ness & California) on the Route 47 Express to Ball Park, and (Funston & California) on the Route 28 Express to 3Com Park. |
| PACIFIC BELL PARK |
Pacific Bell Park hosts the Giants and is located at 24 Willie Mays Plaza, San Francisco. Opened in 2000, Pacific Bell Park has a capacity of 41,000. The Park’s main feature is its location on the Port of San Francisco, which is within walking distance of downtown San Francisco. The Giants previously played at Candlestick Park (3Com Park). Pacific Bell Park’s design is an improvement upon 3Com Park, as modern design technology allows for construction that can block the wind from the Harbour more effectively. An excellent public promenade has been developed along the waterfront from right field to centre field where fans can watch the game through a fence at no charge and where locals and tourists can enjoy new public access to the Bay. Ferries dock directly adjacent to the ballpark beyond the right field wall. The other main feature of the Park is the amount of home runs that are hit straight into the ocean. Barry Bonds, the Giants slugger who used the Park to break the MLB home run season record, hit many a ball into the Bay. The owners of Pacific Bell Park state that the Park is served by more public transportation than any other ballpark in the country. Fans are able to take Muni Metro streetcars and trolley busses, BART (via an in-station link to Muni Metro), Caltrain, buses and ferries to the new ballpark. However, if staying downtown you may as well enjoy the pleasant walk. |
| TENNIS
Mid July - WTA Bank of the West Classic, Taube Family Tennis Center, Campus Drive East, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California Ticket and Event information through www.wtatour.com |
The Taube Family Tennis Center is located within the campus of Stanford University at Palo Alto. Directions to Stanford can be found below. |
| GOLF
Late October - Champions Tour Charles Schwab Cup Championships, Sonoma Golf Club, Sonoma, California Ticket and Event information through www.pgatour.com |
The Sonoma Golf Club is located some 70km north of downtown San Francisco. Although a bit of a trek by transit from San Francisco it can be done. The first leg is to get to Santa Rosa from downtown by taking the Golden Gate Transit Route 72 (Financial Centre) or Route 73 (Civic Centre) to downtown Santa Rosa. From there you then take the Sonoma County Transit Route 30 to Sonoma, which goes via Somona Highway. You can jump off at the stop in El Verano, and walk north along Arnold Drive to the golf course. Unfortunately only 4 services per day operate on the weekend from Santa Rosa to Sonoma. |
| HORSE
RACING
Bay Meadows, 2600 South Delaware Street, San Mateo (Season lasts from early January to late March and early November to late December) Tickets available at course |
San Mateo is located some 30km south of downtown San Francisco. Bay Meadows Racecourse is located 3km further south of downtown San Mateo. From downtown San Francisco (or downtown San Jose) you can catch the Caltrain service that stops right at Bay Meadows racetrack. |
| HORSE
RACING
Golden
Gate Fields, between Gillman and Buchanan Streets (off Route80), Albany
(season lasts from early April to late October) Ticket available at course |
Golden
Gate Fields is located across the Bay, some 14km from downtown Oakland and
18km from downtown San Francisco. Access to the track can be achieved by
catching the BART subway to North Berkeley station and catching the AC
Transit Shuttle bus direct to the track. |
| NCAA
SPORTS - DIVISION 1
UC BERKELEY |
The UC Berkeley Golden Bears are located across the Bay in Berkeley. The Golden Bears have teams in most sports, including football and men’s and women’s basketball. The football stadium (Memorial Stadium), basketball stadium (Haas Pavilion) and athletic stadium are all located on campus. There is a BART subway station (Berkeley) located right at the doorstep of the campus. The football stadium is located at the eastern most point of the campus, so there is a bit of a walk through the delightful University grounds to get to there. |
| NCAA
SPORTS - DIVISION 1
UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO |
The USF Dons are located at 2130 Fulton Street San Francisco, which is located at the eastern edge of Golden Gate Park, about 3km from downtown San Francisco. The Don’s have a limited amount of sports, including men’s and women’s basketball. The War Memorial Gymnasium hosts the basketball teams and is located on the campus. The closest BART subway station is 16th/Mission, but that still requires over a 2km walk but The MUNI bus system route 31 goes straight past the campus. |
| NCAA
SPORTS - DIVISION 1
ST MARYS COLLEGE |
The St Marys Gaels are located in Moraga, a town some 20km east of downtown Oakland. St Mary’s has teams in most sports, including football and men’s and women’s basketball. The Football team plays out of St Mary’s Stadium and the basketball stadium is located on campus. To get to the campus from downtown San Francisco, catch the BART subway to Oakland, and then get AC Transit’s Route 106 (note that there are no Sunday services). |
| NCAA
SPORTS - DIVISION 1
STANFORD UNIVERSITY |
The
Stanford Cardinals are located in Palo Alto, which
is some 35km north-west of San Jose and some 65km
south of San Francisco. The Cardinals have teams in most sports, including
football and men's and women's basketball. The football team plays out of
the humungous Stanford Stadium, which is located adjacent to the campus on
the corner of Embarcadero Road and Arboretum Road and has a capacity of
86,000. The basketball teams play out of Maples Pavillion, which is also
located on campus and has a capacity of just under 8,000.
From either San Francisco or San Jose, you can catch the Caltrain train to Stanford Station, and then walk about 500m west along Embarcadero Road to the campus. The football stadium is located on Embarcadero Road. |
