49ers fans weigh in on how the team can fix their heat problem at Levi's Stadium

It's no secret that fans are baking at Levi's Stadium. What can the team do to fix it? SFGATE readers have a few ideas... It's no secret that fans are baking at Levi's Stadium. What can the team do to fix it? SFGATE readers have a few ideas... Photo: Peter Hartlaub / The Chronicle Photo: Peter Hartlaub / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close 49ers fans weigh in on how the team can fix their heat problem at Levi's Stadium 1 / 14 Back to Gallery

The scene unfolded Sunday as it has so many times before.

With minutes to go until kickoff, Levi's Stadium was a sea of empty red seats. Those seats were empty not just because the 49ers are coming off a dreadful 2016 season, but because the intrepid fans who did show up couldn't stand the blistering heat.

Since Levi's Stadium opened in 2014, fans have complained that its lack of shade makes it an unbearable experience. Because of the ever-present Santa Clara sunshine, fans have abandoned an entire side of the stadium, choosing to cluster in the shady walkways for relief.

Chronicle writer Peter Hartlaub, who was at Sunday's season opener against the Panthers, luckily had seats on the shady side of the stadium.

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"Our section was nearly filled at a time when the seats on the other side were nearly empty," Hartlaub said. "I ran into one person at the landing above our seats who was complaining about the heat on the other side, and gave him a bottle of water my son didn't drink."

MORE: 49ers have temperature issues: Is a fix in store at Levi's Stadium?

For fans wondering why the 49ers constructed a red oven for a stadium, the decision dates back to before the stadium was approved. Before the Santa Clara site was signed off on, the 49ers planned to build their new home in San Francisco. As such, a design was created for the cool spot at Candlestick.

When the Santa Clara site was approved, the 49ers had to move fast to start on their new space. So they took their original design — severely lacking in shade — and took it to the South Bay. The heat problems were immediately apparent. In a preseason game in 2014, the fire department was stunned with an unusual number of emergency calls, mostly for heat-related issues.

"Many people just needed to get out of the sun," a Santa Clara fire chief told the Mercury News. "For many of them, there was a general feeling of weakness, and (they) just needed to rest and get some water."

So what's the solution? Many have begged the Niners to consider adding a sun-shade to Levi's, but unfortunately, that's probably not a realistic fix. The astronomical cost aside, it's not a simple solution, as the Chronicle's Ann Killion points out in her latest column.

"Levi's is an enormously tall building, in the flight path of Mineta San Jose International Airport. A canopy would add to the height," Killion writes.

"In addition, the team is in litigation with the city of Santa Clara, whose stadium authority owns the building and leases it to the 49ers. Launching and financing any capital improvements may be tricky in such a contentious atmosphere."

For now, at least, the team is looking into a solution. On Monday, the organization issued a press release that promised to "review a number of aspects of the stadium with the goal of enhancing the fan experience. ... to investigate feasible solutions to address concerns regarding warm weather days, both for the short and long terms."

So, at least in the near future, it looks like 49ers fans and concert goers will have to suffer with the heat. What could the team do to make things less miserable? We asked SFGATE readers on Facebook to weigh in with their suggestions. You can read some of them in the gallery above.