Since I live in LA, I rarely have time to come up to the Bay Area. Even though I was there for the construction of Levi’s Stadium, I had never actually step foot inside the building. Yesterday I finally did that to catch the 49ers’ season finale. How appropriate that I was at Jim Harbaugh’s first ever game and now I attended his last game.

The stadium itself look gorgeous from the outside. I was smart enough to take Light Rail to the stadium and I got there early so I didn’t have to worry about getting too packed in trying to get inside. The area right outside the entrance with all the booths was really nice. Great way to keep people occupied as they wait. Once inside, I was amazed at how nice it looked. There doesn’t seem to be a bad view from any spot. I like that once up the stairs, you get a nice view of the field.

It was spacious. This was something Candlestick never had and it was a huge improvement. I didn’t eat everything but I did try a torta and a seafood chowder bowl. Not bad. One thing that I wish I had done was go to the museum, but I didn’t have time for it. Instead I just walked around. There wasn’t a lot of things to occupy me when I walked around. It just seemed very big. But I guess that’s fine.

During the game, I could tell why the fans weren’t loud. Some weren’t in their seats. Some just still sad over the Jim Harbaugh news. But I just think the fans from Candlestick didn’t come down for this game. With new stadiums, it takes a while to give it a personality. This stadium is still working on it and it’s not very loud.

When it was loud, it was during the player introductions for Frank Gore. People knew that this could have been his last game. Throughout the entire game, they gave Gore chants at any opportunity.

It’s a nice brand new stadium and it was exactly what I expected it to be. It looked great and I’m sure there are a ton of fun things to check and the experience seemed grand. But much like any new stadium, there has to be an identity forged. It’s hard to do it with some fans priced out and the team not winning. In time I suppose.

I will be back here for the Stadium Series and WrestleMania. This first experience was nice. But I don’t know if I’d be excited to return for a 49ers game again. Well, I would go but I wouldn’t be clamoring for it. At least not anytime soon. But I got it off my bucket list. Maybe in a few years the atmosphere will change and then I might try to find my way back.