Voters Say No to New Giants Stadium : Baseball: The team will play at Candlestick next year. But they make no commitment to play there in 1991.

Giants owner Bob Lurie said the team will play in Candlestick Park next year, but he was uncertain where the National League champs will play in 1991 as a result of voters saying no to a new baseball stadium.

“Candlestick Park cannot stand as a long-term home to the Giants. I can say we’ll stay at Candlestick next year, as planned. But after that, I cannot say,” said Lurie.

City voters in Tuesday’s election narrowly rejected a measure for construction of a new $115-million waterfront ballpark in the China Basin section of San Francisco.

“There are hundreds of thousands of fans who are deeply disappointed by the outcome,” said Lurie. “The Giants and their fans now face an uncertain future.”

Mayor Art Agnos and Lurie conceded defeat of Proposition P five hours after the polls closed, although it was mathematically possible then that it could still win.

The no votes totaled 86,592 and the yes votes 84,618--a 50.5%-49.4% edge. There were between 2,000 and 3,000 absentee ballots still to be counted. That count will be made today, election officials said.

“Those votes are not enough to make a difference,” Agnos said. “There are a lot of questions about what’s next. I don’t know, and I’m not even going to think about it tonight.”

Lurie has vowed for several years that he would move the team to another city rather than continue playing at Candlestick. He had an option to move the franchise as early as next season, assuming he got the approval of other National League team owners.

Another proposition on Tuesday’s ballot, calling for the city to consider improvements at Candlestick to accommodate the Giants, passed by a narrow margin. But Lurie has expressed no interest in such possibilities.

Candlestick Park, the team’s home since 1960, would still be used by the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League.

The Giants’ Candlestick lease runs through the 1994 season. The Board of Supervisors last month granted Lurie an option to get out of the lease at the end of this year, however, if the stadium measure failed.

Despite Agnos’ endorsement, Proposition P suffered a major blow in the wake of the Oct. 17 earthquake. The campaign for the new park was all but dropped while residents dealt with the tragedy.

Supporters said the measure would keep the Giants in San Francisco and give an economic boost to the largely industrial China Basin neighborhood.

Candlestick, known for its cold, chilly winds and poor access roads, holds 60,000 fans for baseball and slightly more for football.