Santa Clara County officials have “yanked $30 million in tax funds promised" for the 49ers' new Santa Clara stadium, and said that they “would rather spend the money on teachers than install ‘little televisions in the back of stadium seats,’" according to Mike Rosenberg of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. The 49ers and Santa Clara city leaders “strongly and passionately object to the move, saying voters had specifically earmarked redevelopment funds to the stadium and that the county has no right to keep it.” Lengthy court battles “are likely, launching a rare soap opera in a stadium debate that has been mostly peaceful -- and supposedly long over.” When asked whether the decision could affect stadium construction, which began in April, a 49ers spokesperson “declined to comment.” The team's front office has said that it “would simply eat the loss if it loses the funds, which amount to less than 3 percent of the cost of the $1.2 billion stadium that is set to open in 2014.” The funding grab came Friday “by a new board that oversees property tax from redevelopment zones.” It was "so unexpected that Santa Clara leaders argued it was done in violation of public notice laws” (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 6/24).
