Large crowd flocks to 49ers home opener at Levi's Stadium

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (KGO) -- The San Francisco 49ers faced the Chicago Bears for their first official home opener at Levi's Stadium on Sunday.

This is the first important big game for the 49ers because it's their home opener.

The last three major events at Levi's Stadium were dress rehearsals and it gave stadium operators a chance to iron out problems with traffic and parking.

Traffic was notably easier for fans heading to the stadium in part because so many people arrived early to pack into the green lot, which is Great America's massive parking area. The amusement park is closed Sunday to accommodate 49ers fans.

An impressive tailgating village was set up hours before kickoff. Fans are clearly excited about the first home game of the season. But they're also aware that it comes as the 49ers and the NFL are dealing with controversy over domestic violence and a pending case with 49ers starting lineman Ray McDonald who was arrested a couple weekends ago for felony domestic violence.

Some fans ABC7 News spoke with said they don't think McDonald should be playing Sunday.

"How many games is it going to take to get to the bottom of what he did," one fan said.

It wasn't too much of an issue for the pre-season game that was held at the stadium a few weeks ago because fans started leaving early around halftime after the 49ers weren't doing well.