Revisiting the Gavin Newsom-York family feud ahead of the first playoff game at Levi's Stadium

FILE - In this July 23, 2019, file photo, Gov. Gavin Newsom talks to reporters at his Capitol office, in Sacramento, Calif. Newsom and the the York family had some contentious times when the location of the 49ers' new stadium was still under discussion. less FILE - In this July 23, 2019, file photo, Gov. Gavin Newsom talks to reporters at his Capitol office, in Sacramento, Calif. Newsom and the the York family had some contentious times when the location of the ... more Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Revisiting the Gavin Newsom-York family feud ahead of the first playoff game at Levi's Stadium 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

The San Francisco 49ers will host their first-ever playoff game at Levi's Stadium on Saturday, a major milestone for a stadium that's been mired in controversy from the beginning.

From negotiations with the city and county of San Francisco falling apart to all sorts of fan complaints after its opening, it's been quite the roller coaster ride for the stadium that's located right next to the Great America amusement park.

With the playoff game approaching, it feels appropriate to look back at one of the more entertaining parts of the history of Levi's Stadium: The public sniping between 49ers owner Jed York and California Governor Gavin Newsom, who was the Mayor of San Francisco at the time.

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Things got pretty petty, with Newsom at one point stating he refused to even "look at" Levi's Stadium.

Here's a rundown of what happened.

In 2006, Newsom and San Francisco proposed that the 49ers build a new stadium at Candlestick Point, just south of Candlestick Park

This was the original proposal for the 49ers' new stadium, with the venue also intended to aid the city and county of San Francisco's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics. In addition to the stadium, the Olympic Village was to be built nearby and converted into low-income housing after the games.

The 49ers' brass, which was led by John York (Jed's father) at the time, had all sorts of issues with this proposal.

The York family and the 49ers eventually backed out of negotiations and set their sights on Santa Clara

In a letter to fans explaining why the team did not want to build a new stadium at Candlestick Point, John and Denise York cited the lack of transportation to the neighborhood.

"The decision stemmed from the incompatible land requirements of the stadium and mixed-use development at the site," the letter wrote. "The project would have created massive new infrastructure and public transit needs, and the size of the development would take up much of the space you currently use for parking and tailgating, requiring the construction of one of the largest parking garages in the world. Additionally, the complexity of the approval process would have jeopardized our goal of opening the new stadium in time for the 2012 season."

The letter also stated the team's intentions to build a new stadium next to Great America in Santa Clara.

Newsom was not thrilled, and tried to get the team to move to Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard instead

The 49ers' decision to abandon the project forced the city to drop its bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, as the city would not have a viable stadium to host the opening and closing ceremonies as well as track and field and soccer events.

Newsom was not happy.

"It is hard to express how disappointed I am," he wrote in a letter to the US Olympic Committee. "It would be a disservice to everyone involved ... to continue to drag out what in the end would clearly be a losing proposition."

The mayor then attempted to get the team to relocate to the Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard, but the 49ers never showed any serious interest in this as they moved forward with their plans to move to Santa Clara.

Jed York becomes the team president at the start of 2009, and he and Newsom trade public barbs

There wasn't a whole lot Newsom could do to stop the team from moving to Santa Clara aside from making public threats and proclamations.

In June 2009, Newsom said he was thinking about suing the team if they took the "San Francisco" name with them to Santa Clara.

"That's a lot of money to spend on a team that won't even change its name," he said of proposed $937 million stadium. "What can I do? I can sue them. I can browbeat them."

As the city of Santa Clara neared a vote to approve construction of the new stadium in 2010, the San Francisco mayor predicted it wouldn't actually be built.

"They'll pass it and have a lot of press conferences calling it 'a historic day' and that the 49ers 'are proud to stay in the Bay Area,'" he said. "Then a year will become two and perhaps three."

Of course, the city did approve the project and it was in fact built. Newsom ended up not suing the team over its name.

Later in 2010, Jed York took a swipe at Newsom during a technology conference.

"I don't have the best relationship with the mayor of San Francisco," he said. "But he's not going to be the mayor very much longer."

Newsom left office in January 2011.

In 2013, Newsom said he couldn't pull himself to look at Levi's Stadium, but also said he has a "good relationship" with Jed York

During a 2013 interview with Yahoo Sports, Newsom, who was then California's lieutenant governor, said he refused to even look at Levi's Stadium. The venue was a year away from opening at this time.

"I can't [look at] it," he said. "I won't. I literally drive by all the time. I swear to you I have not turned left as I'm driving by [heading south], or right when I'm driving north. I have not. I won't open up a website when I see the stadium displayed. I won't do it. Can't do it. Now, I should be above all this. But I'm not."

Despite this sentiment, Newsom said he has a "good relationship" with Jed York.

"In the end, I'm glad the 49ers are in the Bay Area," he said. "I'm glad they're in California. I'm glad they kept the name. I'm glad Jed's at the helm now. I'm glad they're winning. I'm glad their [next] Super Bowl [championship] will be celebrated in San Francisco."

Seeing as John York was the one at the helm of the 49ers during the failed 2006 negotiations, it stands to reason Newsom had a better relationship with Jed, despite the latter's public swipe a few years earlier. In 2015, the two even posed for a photo together that York shared on Twitter with the caption, "Great running into @GavinNewsom today."

In the time since 2013, Newsom has remained supportive of the 49ers on the field, but has still expressed disappointment over the team leaving San Francisco.

The governor was in attendance for the team's Week 17 victory over the Seattle Seahawks two weeks ago, and it will be interesting to see if he ever pays a visit Levi's Stadium, a venue he once said is "up there" on his list of biggest career political disappointments.

Eric Ting is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: eric.ting@sfgate.com | Twitter:@_ericting