Revamping May End Up Costing Giants, 49ers

City officials are proposing further improvement to Candlestick Park and asking the San Francisco 49ers and San Francisco Giants for help with the bill.

The city has asked the stadium’s two principal tenants to lend it $2 million to help pay for $4.5 million in proposed renovations. The plan would add 2,300 upper-deck seats, expand walkways, upgrade the baseball dugouts and install 200-300 new seats along the first- and third-base lines, said Jim Lazarus, aide to Mayor Frank Jordan.

The loan from the teams would allow the improvements to be made by next spring, a year earlier than planned, so the Giants and 49ers could enjoy the benefits sooner, Lazarus said Thursday.

The Giants, who nearly moved to Florida in the off-season because of local voters’ refusal to approve a new stadium, plan to remain at Candlestick for the next several years while continuing to explore new stadium sites. Some renovations--a new scoreboard, outfield fence and left-field bleacher seats--were made before the start of this season.

Giants executive vice president Larry Baer said the team would welcome additional improvements as soon as possible.