When Levi's Stadium Opened, the Substation Next Door Was Brand New

Documenting 40 years of infrastructure expansion that critics of the 49ers EMF hypothesis dismissed without investigation

Perhaps one of the most common complaints about my 49ers EMF injury hypothesis is that the 49ers have practiced at the current facilities since 1988 (previously Marie DeBartolo Sports Centre, it was officially renamed the SAP Performance Facility in May 2014). This is true, and it is a valid criticism.

Here is where we learn that most critics on the internet are not engaging in good faith—it only took me 20 minutes of investigating to discover that the substation infrastructure at the site was massively expanded alongside the building of the new stadium.

In my defense, I wrote the hypothesis mostly as an intellectual exercise to satisfy my curiosity, so when I heard Jon Feliciano say that the players believed the problem began when they moved to Levi’s Stadium, and fans refer to “the curse of Levi’s Stadium,” I did not look deeper. That was a mistake, and I accept responsibility for it. I mentioned on the Gridiron with Skip Bayless and on X on Jan, 16th that I had evidence that the facilities had expanded and was working on a post. Here it is:

(Shoutout to Tristan Scott, who did his own investigation on X and reached the same conclusion—an invaluable contribution to this conversation. Good to have you in this fight, brother.)

Santa Clara Substation Timeline Research

This will be a living document, with the intention of creating a comprehensive timeline of utility infrastructure adjacent to the training facilities since 1998, but first I want to focus on the most important infrastructure change: The removal of the old Tasman Drive substation and the construction of the new Mission substation.

November 15, 2011

Santa Clara Stadium Authority authorized the City Manager of to award contracts for the construction of Mission Substation.

Were can see more specific details in the agenda report itself:

This is where we first learn that Mission Substation is going to be a massive upgrade in terms of capacity.

One item of confusion for people digging into the historical record is that Mission station was originally referred to as Esparanca station, which we can see in the June 5, 2010 city council agenda report:

What is most important, from this document is how the layout of the facilities and electrical infrastructure changed:

This Scope of Development report from the city of Santa Clara confirms that the new facilities are needed to service the stadium

For completeness, the Mission substation appears to have been completed around May 26, 2014, just weeks before the official ribbon cutting at Levi’s Stadium:

And, for complete transparency, this date/location element was hidden in the source code, so I went into the page source in Chrome Devtools and made it visible to get the screenshot:

The construction of these utility projects appears to have been a major success, finishing ahead of schedule, and it is my understanding that the organizations involved even received awards for their performance. These are professionals doing their jobs, and I would like to acknowledge their excellence in their craft and execution, completely separate from any controversy surrounding the injury issue.

One last point, I shared the below document on X, before fully understanding what it meant. Things move fast on social media, and I got caught in the flow, and reposted without doing my full due diligence. I regret that, and am trying to make up for that here. I thought that the document implied that the 49ers could have moved the substation, and didn’t. In fact, it only meant that the city of Santa Clara was going to pay for it, and local activists wanted the 49ers to foot the bill. There is an entire website, built by local activists, dedicated getting a fair deal for local residents. They did amazing work, and I leaned on them heavily for links to historical documents>

Historical Timeline

Source Information

The following timeline data was provided by a mechanical engineer (licensed PE with NCEES national record) who analyzed Google Earth satellite imagery and public records to trace the expansion of electrical infrastructure adjacent to the 49ers’ practice facility in Santa Clara. I have not fact checked all of the below statements, but only the ones highlighted above. Everything she shared has checked out, so I trust her due diligence, but readers may want to do their own.

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1973: Property Transfer

Santa Clara County Assessor records show the property transfer date as January 1, 1973—establishing the site’s origins as utility infrastructure predating both the 49ers facility and the modern stadium complex.

1986: Gianera Generating Station Completed

The Gianera Generating Station—a natural gas-fired power plant owned by Silicon Valley Power (SVP)—was completed in 1986 with a capacity of approximately 49.5 MW to 65 MW. This plant provides electricity to the city of Santa Clara.

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1987: Earliest Clear Aerial Imagery

“Here we are... pic from 1987. Only thing in sight is the Gianera Natural Gas Power Plant. The expansion of this place and addition of equipment in the last 40 years to support Silicon Valley is fascinating.”

At this point, the site shows only the natural gas power plant. The 49ers training facility and the extensive electrical substation equipment visible today were not yet present.

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1988: 49ers Training Facility Construction

The 49ers’ Marie P. DeBartolo Sports Center was constructed around this time. The engineer notes:

“I’d like to know why the Southern Cal Stadium Authority didn’t work more closely with PG&E and Silicon Valley Power to determine if all that infrastructure should be so close... but sometimes the issue with a regulatory agency constructing something in their backyard is they tend to be a little more liberal in interpreting design standards to accomplish a mission... I’ve seen that when I was designing work for government agencies... sometimes they don’t have to submit their work to a permit authority. I have to wonder if this was the case for the training facility in 1988...”

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1993: Early Substation Configuration

“Google Earth satellite data goes back to 1984 but it’s blurry so I can’t see how much of the substation was there in 1988... but the 1993 data is clear... a lot of those transformers and hybrid switchgears weren’t installed at all... just the transmission oil tanks in the front and some equipment... Niners facility was in place as well...”

The 1993 imagery shows minimal electrical infrastructure—primarily the natural gas plant storage tanks and basic equipment. The massive transformer arrays and switching equipment visible today were not yet installed.

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2005: Northern Receiving Station Completed

The Silicon Valley Power (SVP) Northern Receiving Station (NRS) was completed and began operations in May 2005. This project involved building a new 230-kV switching station, associated transmission lines, and additions to an existing 230/115-kV substation.

“This is the info on the ‘Northern Receiving Station’... wasn’t fully completed until 2005 according to the Google machine.”

The station is part of critical infrastructure serving growing power demands in the area, particularly from data centers. As of January 2026, the station is approximately 20 years old.

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2010: Pre-Stadium Expansion

“That’s a 2010 pic... a lot of the equipment south of the practice fields wasn’t yet completed... that must have been an expansion project. Might be able to find the info publicly. I’m sure it was some sort of capital improvement.”

“All that equipment likely wasn’t energized until sometime in 2011.”

The 2010 imagery shows the site before both Levi’s Stadium construction and a significant substation expansion project. Equipment south of the practice fields had not yet been installed.

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2011: Substation Expansion Energized

“So that is the 2011 pic right after additional equipment was installed but there were other transformers not installed until 2018 as well.”

By 2011, new equipment had been installed and energized, but the substation would continue to expand over the following years.

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2014: Stadium Construction & Substation Configuration

“Here’s the 2014 imagery... not too much different from today other than the hybrid switchgears not yet installed in the back (closer to the Amtrak tracks)...”

Levi’s Stadium opened in 2014. The 49ers began playing at this location—and training adjacent to the now-significantly-expanded electrical infrastructure. However, additional equipment was still to come.

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2018: Hybrid Switchgears Installed

“The hybrid switchgears went in 2018...”

The final major addition of hybrid switchgears brought the substation to approximately its current configuration.

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Future Expansion: $70M Project

“I wonder how much more equipment will be installed with this new $70M project currently out for bid... I’d have to imagine unless there are significant improvements to equipment the exposure will just get worse.”

A new $70M construction project is currently planned to further expand the facility’s capacity, likely to meet growing power demands from Silicon Valley data centers.

Reference: Silicon Valley Power Project Documentation

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Additional Context

Regulatory Considerations

The engineer raised questions about how the stadium and training facility were permitted in such close proximity to major electrical infrastructure:

“Sometimes the issue with a regulatory agency constructing something in their backyard is they tend to be a little more liberal in interpreting design standards to accomplish a mission... I’ve seen that when I was designing work for government agencies... sometimes they don’t have to submit their work to a permit authority.”

This observation aligns with the Santa Clara Stadium Authority’s dual role as both the permitting authority and the entity constructing the stadium complex.

Comparison to Other NFL Facilities

The engineer mentioned that someone called in to a DC sports radio show (Brian Mitchell on 106.7 The Fan) noting:

“There are a couple substations within a mile or so of the Commanders facility as well. But with that big time electrical equipment, more distance is better. So I imagine there are no issues in Ashburn, VA.”

The key distinction: a mile of distance versus the ~100 meters separating the 49ers’ practice facilities from the Santa Clara substation.

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Key Takeaways

1. Progressive Expansion: The electrical infrastructure adjacent to the 49ers facility has expanded dramatically over 40 years—from a single natural gas plant in 1987 to a massive transmission hub today.

2. Timeline Correlation: Major equipment installations occurred in 2005, 2011 to 2014, and 2018, with additional expansion planned. This timeline overlaps significantly with the 49ers’ injury epidemic that began accelerating after their 2014 move to Levi’s Stadium.

3. Regulatory Questions: The proximity of critical electrical infrastructure to an NFL training facility raises questions about permitting processes and design standards when government agencies construct projects in their own jurisdiction.

4. Ongoing Growth: The planned $70M expansion project suggests EMF exposure at the site may increase further unless significant mitigation measures are implemented.