Pre-History Timeline
The substation wasn't always there. What sits next to the 49ers facility today is the result of decades of expansion — and the biggest upgrades came right as Levi's Stadium was built.
Critics have claimed the 49ers trained next to this infrastructure since 1988 with no issues. But the infrastructure of 1988 bears almost no resemblance to what's there today. The substation has been expanded repeatedly — with the most dramatic upgrades arriving alongside Levi's Stadium itself.
The Infrastructure Timeline
Property Transfer
Property transfer establishes utility infrastructure on the land that would eventually sit adjacent to both the power plant and the 49ers' training facility.
Gianera Generating Station Built
Silicon Valley Power completes a natural gas-fired generating station with 49.5–65 MW capacity. This is the original power plant — not the substation equipment that exists today.
Aerial Imagery: No Training Facility
The earliest clear aerial imagery shows only the power plant. No 49ers training facility and no extensive electrical substation equipment visible.
49ers Build Training Facility
The Marie P. DeBartolo Sports Center is constructed adjacent to the existing power plant infrastructure. At this point, the substation footprint is minimal.
Substation Still Minimal
Aerial imagery shows the substation configuration consists primarily of storage tanks. The extensive transformers and switchgear that define the current facility are absent.
Northern Receiving Station Completed
Silicon Valley Power completes the Northern Receiving Station — a 230-kV switching station with high-voltage transmission lines. A major escalation in electrical infrastructure adjacent to the practice fields.
Players Already Uneasy
49ers tight end Delanie Walker (49ers 2006–2012) later reveals the substation was a known concern in the locker room for years. In his words:“That's been an issue since I was there. They talked about us moving cuz everybody said it was giving people cancer.”“Everything dies where the power station is.”“You can even feel it sometimes, the energy or something.”Walker says doctors visited the facility to conduct studies, and the organization responded by “pushing it back” and “taking some of it away.”
Transformer Explodes During Practice
Walker also describes a transformer explosion during practice:“A transformer exploded one day when we were at practice. That sounded like a f---ing bomb went off. I was like, 'This is dangerous.'”
Substation Expansion Energized
Significant new equipment south of the practice fields is energized. The substation footprint expands dramatically beyond what existed when the 49ers first moved in.
Candlestick Park Blackout
The lights go out — twice — during Monday Night Football at Candlestick Park (49ers vs. Steelers) due to a blown transformer. The embarrassment becomes a key selling point for the new stadium in Santa Clara, with boosters promising redundant, fail-safe power from Silicon Valley Power's infrastructure — the very substation next door.
Mission Substation Authorized
Santa Clara Stadium Authority authorizes construction contracts for the Mission Substation — purpose-built to power Levi's Stadium.
Super Bowl Blackout Irony
After the Superdome blackout during Super Bowl XLVII, 49ers boosters publicly boast that their new high-tech stadium would never fail during a big game. The irony: they were building it right next to an ever-expanding substation that would become the center of a national controversy.
Mission Substation Completed
The Mission Substation is completed on May 26 — just weeks before Levi's Stadium opens. When the stadium opened, the substation next door was brand new.
Levi's Stadium Opens
Levi's Stadium opens on July 17, 2014. The 49ers' training facility now sits adjacent to a dramatically expanded electrical complex — far beyond anything that existed in 1988.
Hybrid Switchgears Installed
Hybrid switchgears are installed, bringing the substation to its current configuration. Each upgrade adds more electromagnetic equipment approximately 100 meters from the practice fields.
Locker Room Buzz Continues
The substation remains a talking point inside the facility. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk (Harvard-educated) later confirms:“It's definitely been a talking point for years.”Guard Jon Feliciano (49ers 2023–2024) also confirms the substation “was definitely a conversation” during his two seasons with the team. Yet none of this reaches the public.
$70M Expansion Planned
A $70 million expansion project is currently under bid — meaning the substation is set to grow even further.
The Key Takeaway
The claim that “the 49ers have been there since 1988 and it's been fine” ignores two realities: the electrical infrastructure has been massively expanded multiple times since then, and the players themselves have been raising concerns for over a decade. The substation of 2024 is not the substation of 1988.
The most significant upgrades — the Northern Receiving Station (2005), the substation expansion (2011), the Mission Substation (2014), and the hybrid switchgears (2018) — all came after the facility was built. The 49ers' soft-tissue injury epidemic escalated in lockstep.
And this wasn't a secret. Players talked about it. Doctors were brought in. A transformer exploded during practice. Yet none of it reached the public until 2025 — and when it finally did, the organization acted surprised.