The National Football League approved a $200 million loan for the San Francisco 49ers proposed stadium in Santa Clara, according to a tweet from the team's owner, Jed York, Thursday morning:

The team needed the loan to begin building the stadium, which is expected to cost approximately $1 billion to build and will likely open in 2015.

The $200 million is the league's second largest contribution ever for a new stadium, according to the San Jose Mercury News. And the financing does not require the team to share the stadium with the Oakland Raiders, although York told the Mercury News, "We've been asked to keep the communications open."

Late last year, Santa Clara announced that it had received $850 million in loans for the project. The loan from the NFL, along with Santa Clara's redevelopment funds, and a hotel tax will make up the rest of the funding, according to KTVU.

Stadium opponents recently a petition to put the project on the ballot again. In 2010, voters approved a measure to fund the stadium.