2014 Big Game To Be Played at Levi's Stadium

Hey BWF, did you hear? The Big Game next season will be played at the 49ers new Levi's Stadium.



Wow, they sure decided on this quick. Word broke on Friday night that there were talks of scheduling the 2014 Big Game at Levi's Stadium and that it might be decided sometime this week. Well it looks like it's pretty much all decided.

Just to recap, the schedule for the next four years will go as follows:

2013 - at Stanford (Regular schedule)
2014 - at Levi's Stadium
2015 - at Cal
2016 - at Stanford

So in effect, the Big Game is played on 2014, pushing back home field for the Bears one year to 2014. The Big Game will then switch to being played at Memorial Stadium on odd years.

More reactions after the jump.

Look, I get why they're doing this. Money and lots of it. Reports are that we can get an additional $100,000 in ticket revenue by playing the game at Levi's Stadium. Then there's the whole issue of "increased visibility" and media exposure.

I understand that. But you can't shake the feeling that Cal is being hosed big time. This just reeks of the 2012 when Cal somehow found itself hosting the Big Game in freaking October to appease Stanford's schedule. We got hosed then, and we're getting hosed now.

We now go two years without the Big Game being played at Cal. I would have been okay with the deal if the game were played in 2015 after Cal's had a chance to get their home game. But, now we have a two year gap and now switch to playing Stanford in odd years.

Secondly, I don't buy that Levi's Stadium is a neutral site venue. Granted, we're likely to outnumber Stanford's fan base that day anyway, but we're talking about Berkeley residents having to travel 45 minutes versus a Palo Alto resident's 15 minute commute to Santa Clara.

Third, I get that there's a uniqueness to having the Big Game played in the 49ers brand new shiny stadium, but newsflash: WE ALREADY HAVE A BRAND NEW SHINY STADIUM! One that we've spent hundreds of millions of dollars on, and I can't fathom not putting it to use.

But we haven't even discussed the biggest problem with all this. It just goes against tradition. We don't need the game to be played at Levi's Stadium. The Big Game is meant to be played at Memorial Stadium and occasionally in Palo Alto only to appease the monkeys. That's it. Playing it elsewhere? It's wrong. All wrong.

I'm too pumped about the upcoming season to let this get me too down now. And I'm sure there might be a certain level of, "This is kinda neat" feeling when I stroll into Levi's Stadium in 2014. But chances are, I won't be able to shake the sense that the powers that be sold out one of the most sacred past times in all of college football for a few extra bucks. And that's a shame.