York family sells small stakes of 49ers to investors

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The York family has sold two small stakes in the San Francisco 49ers franchise

"They were important people to us," John York said Monday night in explaining the moves. He declined to provide further details of the sales, first reported by the Sports Business Journal on Monday. The San Jose Mercury News said each stake was 1 percent.

York's son, team president Jed York, said the sales have nothing to do with helping finance a new $1 billion stadium in Santa Clara, near the current team headquarters in technology-rich Silicon Valley.

"They're strategic limited partners," he said.

Earlier this month, the team announced it secured $850 million in loans from Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and U.S. Bank to finance the project it hopes will get underway this spring with a formal groundbreaking. Make-ready work at the construction site is set for January.

The new stadium is set to be a state-of-the-art 1.85 million-square foot facility with a seat 68,500-seat stadium featuring 165 luxury suites and 9,000 club seats. The venue also will be constructed with the versatility to host a wide range of events including domestic and international soccer, college football, motocross, concerts and various civic events.

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