No big implosion, no wrecking balls. The famous 49ers home will be gradually removed piece by piece over the next three months. Then a shopping centre is to replace it.

After preliminary clearing works were carried out in previous weeks, most notably the removal of all seats, heavy machinery entered the site of Candlestick Park. Up to ten pieces of crushing equipment is to work on dismantling the stands. It’s expected to take up to three months.

Initially Lennar Urban, developer now owning the site, was considering an implosion, but the stadium’s location might cause significant dust cloud with possibly asbestos particles moving towards San Francisco residents. Thus a slower and less spectacular demolition is taking place. Each element subject to crushing is being sprayed with water to avoid dust.

Once Candlestick has come down, work will begin on the site's new life. A 500,000-square-foot outdoor mall spearheaded by Lennar Urban and development partner Macerich will rise on the site and will be part of the $1 billion of new investment and infrastructure scheduled for Candlestick over the next four years. There will also be thousands of new homes built on the site.

While Candlestick Point is starting a new life, let us remind you that the new home of San Francisco 49ers, the Levi’s Stadium, is nominated to become Stadium of the Year 2014.

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