Page 90 - 2017 Travel Guide to California

SANTA CLARA
Levi’s Stadium adds to city’s theme park fun, history and high-tech
B Y L A U R A D E L R O S S O
LEVI’S STADIUM, home of the San
Francisco 49ers, hosted Super Bowl 50 in
2016 and many other events, including the
NHL Stadium Series, above; California’s
Great America, below.
SANTA CLARA, just an hour south of San
Francisco, lies in the heart of tech capital
Silicon Valley, an area firmly focused on the
future but with a history that stretches back
to the founding of California.
With the opening of Levi’s Stadium in
2014, and its subsequent hosting of Super
Bowl 50 in 2016, Santa Clara is now in the
national spotlight. Not only is the 69,900-
seat stadium home to the San Francisco
49ers, but it hosts college football,
domestic and international soccer, con-
certs and other special events. Its
20,000-square-foot 49ers Museum cele-
brates the team’s history in 11 galleries and
interactive exhibit spaces devoted to sports
history, Super Bowl Championships and
the Lombardi Trophies. The museum and
the stadium are open for tours and visits
year-round.
Theme Park Fun, Sports,
Shopping & Festivals
There’s much more to see in Santa Clara.
Families find entertainment and thrills at
California’s only combination theme and
water park, California’s Great America,
which offers more than 100 acres of rides
and shows. The park, open late March
through October, expanded with the Planet
Snoopy play area in 2016. Rides include an
interactive ride aboard Snoopy’s giant
skateboard, a Peanuts 500 race-car ride
and Snoopy’s Space Buggies, which lifts
astronauts high in the air for a lunar
landing. New for 2017 will be Patriot, an
exciting “floorless” roller coaster which
position guests with their feet dangling
high above a track.
The local dining scene is booming with
four new restaurants just over a mile from
88 2017 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A