Levi's Stadium will be christened tonight

It's Friday afternoon and I just left Levi's Stadium after watching the San Jose Earthquakes practice and then attending the ensuing press conference to introduce newly signed designated player Matias Perez Garcia of Argentina.

Wow! Seriously, wow!

My mind is racing as it was an overwhelming experience knowing that I got a sneak peek at Bay Area sports history . . . or should I say Bay Area sports future, as tonight Levi's Stadium will play host to its first live sporting event when the Earthquakes take on the Seattle Sounders. What a stadium it is — a real gem for the 49ers and the Bay Area.

I've been to a few stadiums over the years and just last week watched Manchester United drub the L.A. Galaxy at the Rose Bowl. I'm often at soccer-specific venues, but also a lot of mixed-sport stadiums, and I look forward to seeing how the game-day experience stacks up as well as how the stadium is specific to soccer, which has needs that are different from baseball or American football.

The 49ers aren't playing tonight, and for that I am grateful, as I not only prefer soccer over American football, but also because I don't think the stadium would be ready to host a capacity crowd. In fact, after Friday's experience, I'm questioning whether it will be ready to host a limited capacity crowd of 45,000, which is expected today. Just as Brazil recently showed with the FIFA World Cup, though, the game will happen even if the stadium isn't 100 percent complete.

I'm sure there will be some parking challenges, as I almost got hit a few times leaving Friday with only a few hundred cars. Everything is new, nobody knows where to go and even the staff seem like they are learning on the job. My advice: arrive early and prepare to stay late if you are attending the game.

The stadium looks ready as the structure is in place and logos are splashed everywhere. It looks like a marketing dream, although isn't that at the crux of any new stadium?

The grass is unbelievable. It looks like it was cut with scissors; each blade looks in place. Any mistakes on game day will be human error, not surface related, as it's a real carpet, and no matter the sport, it will be an amazing playing surface. Well, at least any which play on grass. It's great to see in the age of artificial surfaces that the 49ers will be playing on the real deal.

The VIP areas are unbelievable, decorated with a designer's touch that I don't have but certainly can appreciate. Sponsors and fans who have the means to visit these areas won't be disappointed. In fact, they probably won't want to leave.

Our folks in the wine country will be pleased to see numerous wines on display, but at a quick glance, I didn't recognize any from our area. I'm sure it won't be long before we see Sonoma County wines represented.

The press room where the media conference was held certainly benefitted from a run-through before hosting the visiting teams' press conferences in the NFL. Nothing seemed to work initially, and when it did, the volume was a bit loud or even too soft. At one point, they had to change seats because their new signing couldn't be filmed in lighting. In the big picture, these are all little things which can be sorted out, possibly for today's game, but certainly for the 49ers' debut.

I look forward to seeing the game today, but for me, it isn't about the actual game on the field, which is normally my sole focus.

Today is about being there, witnessing history and getting a sense for the overall experience at Levi's Stadium, which is certain to quickly become a relevant sports venue.

I've never had a bad time in Levi's and we will see if tonight holds true as well.

Chris Ziemer is the Director of Athletics and girls soccer coach at Sonoma Academy. He has been a frequent contributor to The Press Democrat and pressdemocrat.com.