Santa Clara Giants? Team Has Plan : Baseball: Owner asks for $40 million in public funds to leave Candlestick Park and move 45 miles south.

The San Francisco Giants have submitted plans to build a $125-million open-air baseball park in Santa Clara that would seat 45,000-50,000 fans and open in 1994.

The proposal submitted by letter Wednesday to City Manager Jennifer Sparacino envisions a ballpark on 120 acres of city-owned land in the northern part of the city.

It estimated $40 million in publicly financed improvments would be needed.

The Giants’ current home, San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, seats 61,000 for baseball and also is used for football.

The proposal to Santa Clara, about 45 miles south of San Francisco, envisions a smaller stadium with more luxury boxes and VIP seats and with the stands closer to the diamond.

Corey Busch, Giants vice president for administration, said a more detailed plan would be submitted to the City Council in June, so preparations could be made for a November vote on the stadium plan.

San Francisco voters refused last November to approve a new ballpark for the Giants, strengthening owner Bob Lurie’s intention to move.

Busch said the Giants are not negotiating with any other city.

Sparacino declined to comment specifically, saying “I have an awful lot of questions about it.”

Busch said the Giants have entered into discussions with “four separate groups interested in working with the Giants and Santa Clara in the financing of the ballpark.”

Financing will likely be provided through a combination of public funding and event-generated revenue. The Giants will be responsible for raising “approximately 10%” of the cost, Busch wrote. Annual public funding would be in the range of $7 to $9 million.

The proposal estimates the Giants would pay a developer about $10 million a year in rent.

The luxury boxes and parking revenue would provide more revenue for the Giants.