By Morris Phillips

For the first time, the 49ers on the field have competition from the stadium in which they play.

Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara opened Thursday for a ribbon cutting ceremony and it’s quite obvious the 2014 Super Bowl-contending team will play in what immediately becomes one of the finest stadiums in the entire NFL.

Upon seeing all the bells and whistles on the stadium tour such as the rooftop garden/VIP area with the views of hills surrounding the greater San Jose area or any of the other 10 stadium clubs, luxury boxes galore, spacious and smartly-angled lower bowl or the concourses three times as wide as Candlestick’s you knew that this place is ideal for hosting a Super Bowl—as it will in 2016—or an NFC Championship Game which the 49ers hopes comes sooner than that.

When asked about skyrocketing tickets prices, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell—on hand for the Thursday’s ceremony long enough to briefly answer questions—simply replied “what you have to do is find ways to create more value.”

And the 49ers have created more value by building a stadium heavily populated with seats with great vantage points, numerous restaurant locations and menu options, wi-fi that promises to have everyone connected, all the luxury boxes Silicon Valley overachievers could ever fill and, in some cases, bathrooms that look like they should belong in a fancy, downtown hotel.

During the ceremony, 49ers’ CEO Jed York recounted the courting of Santa Clara and its residents by his exhaustive efforts—including knocking on doors and pleading with naysayers near midnight–and creating the trust with residents that the team to build a stadium without raising taxes or negatively impacting the general fund of the city. And York and the 49ers delivered, building the $1.2 billion stadium in less than three years.

The 49ers open the regular season in Dallas against the Cowboys on Septmeber 7, before returning home the following week to take on the Bears. The first pre-season game in the new stadium will be held on July 17 and the Earthquakes will unofficially open the new facility with a game on August 2.

Current Santa Clara mayor Jamie Matthews answered questions and explained that the Youth Soccer fields just north of the stadium will be preserved, the moratorium on Monday Night Football could lift after just one year and that 32,000 parking spaces surrounding the stadium will be available on gamedays.

Matthews also said that the City of Santa Clara is in negotiations to build an entertainment/retail complex that would cost $6.5 billion, spring up right across the street from the stadium and be “rivaled only by San Francisco’s Union Square.”

Hundreds of construction workers that worked on the stadium made a grand entrance while York spoke. Two workers that were killed during the building of the stadium were not directly mentioned in the ceremony but a memorial is planned to honor both.

The massive scoreboards at either end of the stadium as well as the sign on the outer façade of the west side of the stadium are adorned with Levi’s signs. And the famous jean maker will roll out a new line of NFL-sponsored clothing at the beginning of July.

Even Sourdough Sam has new Levi’s to wear and you couldn’t help but notice the pep in his step at the ceremony probably due to the more desirable weather and accomodations that surely didn’t exist in 1849.

Indeed, it appears as if the 49ers have struck gold in Santa Clara.