SANTA CLARA – Tailgating at 49ers games will look a lot different this season and many fans are frustrated with the team’s changes.
The 49ers recently reached out to longtime fans with new rules for tailgating on game days. One of the new policies is “directed parking” – a procedure in which cars are waved into particular spots, rather than drivers having their pick in a lot on a first-come, first-served basis.
According to the Levi’s Stadium website, the new parking procedure aims to maximize the available spaces in a given lot and helps prevent congestion.
The organization is scaling back the number of early tailgate parking passes that allow fans to barbecue and socialize in the parking lot before the game, ABC-7 reports, while also cracking down on loud music.
Some season ticket holders are not happy with the recent changes and have even started a petition in hopes of meeting with 49ers executives to talk about the recent changes. As of Tuesday morning, the petition has over 2,300 signatures.
Joe Leonor, a season ticket holder and president of 49er fan group The Niner Empire, said he was told by the organization that the new parking procedures will help people who are arriving closer to kickoff time.
His fear is that the new tailgating protocols will prevent longtime fans from interacting with each other, and thus make tailgating parties smaller as limited amounts of early tailgating passes have been available.
“We leave at five, six, seven o’clock in the morning on game day and we’re lined up ready to go,” Leonor told the Bay Area News Group on Wednesday. “Why not cater to your fans that are there through thick and thin? … It’s heartbreaking because it’s a tradition. It’s the one day a week we can let our hair down, enjoy each other and have fun.
“They said it’s for time-saving and improved traffic, but the hardcore fans are already in there. It’s the people that are coming late to the games for whatever reason. It’s the love for football and the tradition of football that gets us there early.”
Leonor said the pregame festivities are part of the gameday fabric and is why the team has so many fans.
“You meet lifelong friends,” Leonor said. “People come from all different parts of the world to enjoy tailgating. There’s tailgates all throughout Levi’s Stadium. It’s part of our escape from reality.”
The 49ers declined to answer specific questions about the changes in parking policy, but cited fan safety as a motivating factor.
“Safety is our top priority, and while we want to ensure all guests at Levi’s Stadium are able to enjoy themselves, tailgating guidelines are in place to protect the safety of all guests and staff,” a spokesperson for 49ers told the Bay Area News Group on Wednesday.
Fans on social media have also voiced their displeasure with the new parking rules.
“Thank you @49ers for raising our prices,” wrote sports photographer and longtime 49ers fan Ricky Helton on Twitter/X. “Giving the best parking spots to your corporate buds and taking away my early tailgater even though I’ve never been in any trouble my entire time @LevisStadium. Oh well, I guess the front office doesn’t care about fans.”
49ers fan and longtime DJ during 49er tailgates Scotty Fox posted on X: “For the first time in 15 years I won’t be able to tailgate early for @49ers. It’s been such a privilege and such a part of my fan experience to be there early with my son and friends. We built a small culture around it and they just took it away. No reason. Heartbroken.”
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Fans are hoping to gain an audience with 49ers executives and come to a solution. Leonor said the best way to fix parking would be for the team to allow the fans to handle parking disputes should they occur.
“Let us be fans, let us enjoy tailgating and let us police ourselves,” Leonor said. “We have retired law enforcement, retired police officers at our tailgates. In 25 years, I’ve never had a big, giant issue at our tailgate at all. It’s a family atmosphere.”
Some fans are even going as far as to stop attending games this season if the policies are not reversed. Leonor said members of the Niner Empire are already looking at other ways they could get together and watch the games at different venues.
“For the first time since I became a season ticket holder, I’ve thought about selling my tickets,” Leonor said. “We’re 49er fans and we love our team, but what’s stopping us from coming together at my house and enjoying ourselves there for free?”
TRAFFIC NOTE
The 49ers have already released a traffic advisory for Monday night’s season opener against the New York Jets: The Tasman Drive exit off U.S. Route 101 will be closed at 9:30 a.m. and will remain inaccessible until three hours after the game ends. Kickoff is slated for 5:15 p.m.
The team encouraged fans to carpool to avoid traffic snags, or take public transportation to the stadium, noting that the Valley Transit Authority will have extra services on Monday night.