Candlestick Park has seen it all, and a historic venue deserves a historic performer to play its last concert. Paul McCartney has been confirmed to play the final event at the historic venue.
The concert will mark a full-circle moment for the iconic songwriter as well. McCartney last played at Candlestick with his band The Beatles, in a concert that would go down in history as the last live gig the band ever played. Although fans (and maybe the band) didn't realize it at the time, The Beatles would quit playing live in 1966 to focus solely on recording albums such as Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and The Beatles ("The White Album"). The group had released the legendary Revolver album earlier that month, and Beatlemaniacs were in full force for the show. Amateur footage of the show has become wildly popular after fans realized it would be the last for the group.
Having McCartney play the venue nearly 50 years after the historic concert seems like a feel-good story, but there was a degree of tension in its organization. Ed Lee, the mayor of San Francisco, had personally reached out to McCartney to propose the gig, and it seems the ex-Beatle was on board. However, McCartney's promoter suggested that the performer was looking into Levi's Stadium, the new stadium of the San Francisco 49ers, for a potential concert. City officials perceived the option as an insult, but the social action of San Francisco citizens finally convinced McCartney to try out the new stadium later.
Candlestick Park has been open since 1960, where it hosted the San Francisco Giants and later the 49ers. The Giants moved to a new stadium in 2000, leaving it to the city's football team. A set date for its demolition has not been named yet.
