The 49ers have been chasing a new stadium for more than 15 years, and if they hadn't secured $850 million in loans from the city of Santa Clara last week, you might suspect Monday night's power outages to be a political ploy.
The lights failed twice, once before and once during the 49ers-Steelers matchup on Monday Night Football. What's better than a prime-time national-TV stage to plead your case that you're playing in a dump and need to get out?
But Candlestick, which opened in 1960, isn't the only sports venue to have high-profile embarrassments. The New Meadowlands, hosting a Cowboys-Giants game, suffered the same fate last season in its first year of existence. Here are some notable hiccups:
Notable Stadium Breakdowns Slideshow
Candlestick Park (San Francisco), 2011
The lights went out twice Monday night. The first delayed kickoff of the 49ers-Steelers Monday Night Football game by 20 minutes. Then early in the second quarter, a second outage caused a 16-minute delay.
Metrodome (Minneapolis), 2010
You would think a stadium in Minnesota should be built for the snow, but the Metrodome's roof caved in after a big blizzard. The Vikings had to move one game to Detroit and another to the University of Minnesota's stadium, which is an outdoor venue.
New Meadowlands Stadium (New Jersey), 2010
The Giants-Cowboys game was delayed six minutes after two brief power outages. A few banks of lights went out the first time. Then the second outage lasted just six seconds but zapped all the lights.
Veterans Stadium (Philadelphia), 2001
The Eagles-Ravens preseason game at the Vet was called off after the turf was deemed too dangerous. Kickoff was first delayed for a half hour before officials decided to cancel the game. Uneven cutouts in the turf that covered infield dirt made footing an issue.
Kingdome, (Seattle) 1994
A Mariners-Orioles game was postponed after four 15-pound insulating tiles fell from the ceiling. They crashed in the stands behind home plate about 2 1/2 hours before the scheduled start.
Olympic Stadium (Montreal), 1991
The Expos were forced to play the final 13 home games of the season on the road after a 55-ton chunk of concrete crashed on to an interior walkway. No one was injured, but it was another debacle for a venue that was plagued with problems practically from the time it opened in 1976.
Boston Garden, 1988 and 1990
The Garden had no air conditioning, which caused fog to develop on warmer nights such as when the Bruins were in the playoffs. Game 4 of the 1988 Stanley Cup Final between the Bruins and Oilers ended in a 3-3 tie after the power went out late in the second period and could not be restored. In Game 1 of the 1990 Cup Final, also between the Bruins and Oilers, the lights went out early in triple overtime. This time they were able to turn the power back on after a half-hour delay. Edmonton won the game and swept the series.
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