A groundbreaking ceremony has been held to mark the start of work on a new USD1.02bn (£634m, EUR774m) stadium in Santa Clara, US - the new home of San Francisco 49ers.

The 1.85 million sq ft (171,871sq m) complex will have a seating capacity of around 68,500 and will be able to host a wide range of sports, as well as entertainment events when complete.

Due to open in August 2014, the HNTB-designed stadium is described as an "environmentally-friendly and technologically-savvy" venues and will be a new landmark for Silicon Valley.

Earlier this year, National Football League (NFL) owners approved a loan worth USD200m (£124m, EUR152m) towards the cost of the Santa Clara development.

The funding was in addition to a USD850m (£528m, EUR645m) construction loan secured by the 49ers in December through a group including Goldman Sachs.

49ers chief executive officer Jed York said: "It's a statement that this is the first professional football stadium to be built in California in over 50 years."

Former city mayor Patricia Mahan added. "What's gratifying to me is that every obstacle that came up, the city was always able to work with the 49ers in a very collaborative way."

Details: www.newsantaclarastadium.com