Santa Clara, 49ers Reach Agreement On New Stadium In City

Santa Clara Officials Sign Off On Parameters Of Deal For 49ers Stadium In South Bay

Santa Clara officials said that late last night they "signed off, in closed session, on the parameters of a deal" with the 49ers to build a 68,500-seat stadium in the South Bay, according to John Cote of the S.F. CHRONICLE. The agreement on a deal, "after more than a year of talks, marked a major milestone in the 49ers' effort to move the football team" from S.F., where it has played since '46. Santa Clara residents now will "go to the ballot box to decide whether to back the deal their city leaders hashed out with the team." That vote will "likely come in March, after an environmental-impact study is completed." Santa Clara City Council member Jamie Matthews: "Ultimately, the authority lies with the public. They're going to be the ones who decide on whether it's built or not." City officials last night declined to "make public details of the final proposal," though they said that the details "would be released May 29 in advance of a June 2 City Council meeting to discuss the proposal and potentially have the council vote on whether to back it." Santa Clara Mayor Patricia Mahan has said that the proposal "calls for Santa Clara to contribute less than $90[M] toward the $854[M] stadium," and that the city "would own the stadium and charge the team rent." Proposed lease terms "were not disclosed." Mahan has also said that the city "would cover the $62[M] cost of moving an electricity substation and building a new parking garage at the site" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 5/20). In a front-page piece for the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, Mike Swift notes the process moving forward "will be intensely political, with the council voting on the plan before a political campaign leading up to a citywide vote, probably early next year." The 49ers also will "have to strike a deal with the corporate owner of Great America to use the theme park's parking lots as the stadium site if the stadium is to open for the 2013 NFL season as planned." The 49ers in general "plan to finance much of the roughly $900[M] project with stadium revenues, including sale of the stadium's name and seat licenses sold to fans," while the city "would own the stadium, and would provide a subsidy for its construction" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 5/20). 

STILL FACING HURDLES: In S.F., Ray Ratto writes, "Call us in March when the voters get their crack." The agreement "could be a big deal at some point, but it isn't now and Tuesday night's closed-door session of the Santa Clara City Council doesn't make" a new 49ers stadium "any closer." The 49ers "could be splitting their past and future on the issue." 49ers President Jed York is working to "get the Santa Clara deal moving," but former team President Carmen Policy is "working on behalf of Lennar, the folks who are trying to make the 49ers a new home at Hunters Point if the Santa Clara thing collapses." Meanwhile, "in the middle -- leaning toward Jed" -- is former 49ers Owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr., who is "about to be inducted into the 49ers' Hall of Fame, largely on Jed's initiative" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 5/20). The S.F. EXAMINER's Ken Garcia wrote the $90M Santa Clara "would only be required to pony up" is a "rather curious amount, since San Francisco voters approved $100[M] in revenue bonds for its new stadium about 10 years ago." But the cost of the stadium in that time has "nearly doubled to $916[M]." Garcia: "Sound like a deal too good to be true? It did then, and it certainly does now" (SFEXAMINER.com, 5/19).