The San Francisco 49ers are exploring the possibility of moving their practice facility, though the reason has nothing to do with the nearby electrical substation that has become the focus of injury-related conspiracy theories.
Speaking with The Athletic’s Vic Tafur, 49ers CEO Al Guido said the organization is still focused on addressing its long-running injury concerns after spending several seasons near the top of the NFL in that category.
From the team’s perspective, part of the answer may be a more modern and spacious training setup. The current facility is tightly situated next to Levi’s Stadium, limiting what the franchise can do on site. Guido said the 49ers are particularly interested in improving the weight room, hydrotherapy space and rehabilitation areas.
‘Everything is geared to winning the Super Bowl,’ Guido said. ‘We have been to three in the last 30 years and not won any. That’s the appetite with everyone here, and this is the right time to do it. In talking to our fans, I think they feel that, too.’
The planned upgrades are not limited to the building itself. San Francisco is also adding three new members to its physical therapy staff as part of a broader effort to improve player health and recovery.
The discussion comes months after the 49ers addressed speculation surrounding the electrical substation located along the edge of their Santa Clara practice grounds. In March, the team released the results of an investigation, saying independent scientists found no support for the theories linking the substation to the club’s injury problems.
Niners players take part in minicamp drills with the electrical substation visible nearby
The 49ers’ practice fields sit next to an electrical substation that some have blamed for the team’s injuries
‘He basically said it was a big nothing burger,’ 49ers GM John Lynch told reporters at the NFL league meetings in Phoenix. ‘We’re safe. We’re in a safe place of work. The levels are 400 times less than an unsafe zone. So it’s a normal place of work, it’s a normal gym. We are safe, we’re healthy, and we feel really good about that.’
The theory began in January when researcher Peter Cowan shared a series of posts on X, suggesting that the power station had contributed to the Niners’ injury crisis.
According to Cowan, a board-certified quantum biology practitioner, San Francisco’s fitness problems may be the result of chronic exposure to ‘low-frequency electromagnetic fields’ from an electrical substation located right next to their stadium and practice facility.
After Cowan’s theory recently went viral on X, tight end Georg Kittle suffered a season-ending Achilles tear in the playoffs, bringing more attention to the theory. Even Kittle himself appeared to endorse the speculation.
‘The one thing that messes me up with it, this is tough, my rookie season there used to be trees in between the substation and our practice facility,’ he began to explain on an appearance on Complex News in February.
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‘There’s a fence there too and above the fence all the trees had no leafs on them, year round, all dead. Nobody notices it until you point it out. I didn’t point it out to Kyle Shanahan until 2021. A vet pointed it out to me my rookie season and I was like ‘That’s kind of weird’.
‘But then this year the NFL came in and cut them all down. So they’re not there anymore so no one can see them. So it’s only us vets that know that was the truth. I don’t think anyone talked about that yet. That one messed me up.’
As Al Guido told The Athletic, the 49ers are looking into relocating the practice facility
Former San Francisco tight end Delanie Walker even poured fuel on the fire, expressing his own fears over the proximity.
Walker, who was drafted by the 49ers 2006 and remained in San Francisco until 2012, claims there were concerns over the substation back then.
‘That’s been an issue since I’ve been there – they talked about moving that electrical substation because when I was there,’ he told the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast.
‘It was said that it was giving people cancer… so then they pushed it back a little bit and just took some of it away.’
He added: ‘You can even feel it sometimes – I don’t know what it is – you can feel the energy. And then a transformer exploded one day we were at practice.
Many 49ers players have speculated that the electrical substation contributed to injuries
‘That s*** sounded like a f***ing bomb went off. I was like: “This is dangerous” but they’re not going to move it.’
The retired tight end, 41, claimed that research was done into the possible impact of the site but that players were given guarantees that the practice facility is safe.
‘They would start telling us: this may cause cancer, this is a study they’re doing. They had doctors coming up there,’ he said.
‘We may have signed something, I’m going to be honest,’ Walker continued. ‘I heard they were like: ‘Oh it may make your ligaments weak’ and I’m like: ‘God Damn, that’s crazy.’ And then when I saw the picture I thought: We practiced right there too. that’s the craziest s*** ever.’
