The project, which included plans for retail space and housing improvements, was claimed to be of great potential benefit to the nearby historically blighted neighborhood of Hunters Point.

After negotiations with the city of San Francisco fell through, the 49ers focused their attention on a site adjacent to their administrative offices and training facility in Santa Clara.

[citation needed] The stadium was designed by HNTB, an internationally renowned architectural firm, with a focus on creating a multi-purpose venue and with the fan experience and green technology as top priorities.

It has a seating capacity of 68,500, expandable to approximately 75,000 to host major events like the Super Bowl and the FIFA World Cup.

On June 27, 2015, The Grateful Dead Fare Thee Well Tour made history by extending the stadium seating capacity to 83,000, although only 77,000 attended the event over two nights.

[22] The seating design of the stadium places approximately two-thirds of the fans in the lower bowl, which is one of the largest of its kind in the entire NFL.

[26] The problems with the turf were mentioned the day after the Super Bowl by Denver Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib who said "The footing on the field was terrible.

The city announced in March 2013 that the San Tomas Aquino Trail would be "temporarily detoured between Agnew Road and Tasman Drive for approximately one year starting April 15 and ending when the Stadium is open,[35]" but this one-mile section of the trail remained closed to the public before and during stadium events since they began in August 2014, requiring the continued use of the two-mile on-street detour.

[39] Levi's Stadium has been praised for its excellent sightlines, beautiful architecture, plentiful amenities, technological advancements, convenient public transportation access, and environmental sustenance.

Levi's Stadium has also received heavy criticism for the way fans are treated on hot days during early-season afternoon games.

[46] Due to its close proximity to the airport, Federal Aviation Administration regulations do not allow the 49ers to add any more height to the stadium, while any additional overhangs would have to be structures, making it very difficult to fix the problem.

San Francisco voters in 1997 approved $100 million in city spending to build a new stadium and an attached shopping mall at Candlestick Point.

[50] Originally, part of the area surrounding Candlestick Park was to be zoned for retail space and housing; the new 49ers stadium was to be combined with such elements, bringing much-needed attractions to the historically blighted neighborhood of Hunters Point.

[56] With San Francisco slow to come up with better locations for the stadium, or ways to circumvent the problems posed by construction at Candlestick Point, team owners Denise DeBartolo York and John York announced on November 9, 2006, that the 49ers were shifting their efforts to create a new stadium to the city of Santa Clara, home to the team offices and training facility since 1987, approximately 40 miles (64 km) south of San Francisco.

[58] On January 3, 2007, California State Senator Carole Migden introduced a bill, entitled SB49, that would bar the 49ers from building a new stadium within a 100-mile (160 km) radius of San Francisco, if they were to leave the city.

The 49ers organization announced its strong opposition to the legislation and retorted that passing such a bill would only encourage the team to move out of the Bay Area altogether.

[70][71] Santa Clara City Council members William Kennedy and Jamie McLeod had opposed the stadium project and worked (unsuccessfully) to get Measure J defeated.

[77] The 49ers[76] and Raiders[78] publicly said it would be an option if possible, while NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was strongly in favor of the two sharing a stadium.

[83] In October 2012, Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis told reporters he had no plans to share the Santa Clara stadium with the 49ers.

[87] However, the Raiders signed a one-year lease extension for the Oakland Coliseum, with an option for a second year of construction if Las Vegas were to be delayed, ending any possibility of them playing at Levi's Stadium.

[91] Terms of the loan were not specified, but under the previous G-3 plan, money was repaid directly into the league's account from the borrowing team's share of gate receipts from road games.

[93] Work resumed two days later after officials from the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) declared the site safe, but as of October 2013, the accident remained under investigation.

The first game played at the new stadium was a Major League Soccer match on August 2, 2014, where the San Jose Earthquakes defeated Seattle Sounders FC 1–0 before a crowd of 48,765.

[98] The first 49ers' regular-season game at the stadium was held during Week 2 on September 14, 2014, when the team hosted the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football.

With access to the golf course fairways, Levi's Stadium now had 31,600 potential parking spaces, meaning that tailgating and weeknight games were now a possibility.

[103] Anticipating significant traffic from Levi's Stadium visitors, the nearby city of Mountain View instituted a three-hour parking limit on downtown streets during game days.

While residents received exemptions via permit tags, stadium-goers must park in paid lots or far from Mountain View's Caltrain/VTA light rail station.

[106] After many youth soccer players attended a city council meeting on April 29 to protest the proposal, the 49ers withdrew the $15 million offer.

[126][127][128] A 2017 International Champions Cup game was held on July 23, 2017, when Manchester United defeated Real Madrid 1–1 (2–1 in a penalty shoot-out).

[133] A mass COVID-19 vaccination site opened Tuesday February 9, 2021, at Levi's Stadium, with California Governor Gavin Newsom, representatives of the San Francisco 49ers, and Santa Clara County officials on hand.