The cost to build Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara is rising about $100M to $1.3B, as the 49ers' plan to use their "mounting pile of cash to install new tech features throughout" the stadium, according to Mike Rosenberg of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. The 49ers on Friday said that the latest 8% increase to the stadium price, which has now jumped $336M in three years, "was not due to cost overruns but rather because of unspecified new elements to ‘enhance the fan experience.’” The final decision to increase the cost “came in recent weeks following the NFL owners' vote" to award Super Bowl L in '16 to the new Levi's Stadium. 49ers Exec VP/Development Larry MacNeil said, "We see this as great opportunity to show the world when they come here in 2016 the future of stadium technology." MacNeil declined to provide more detail on the additional $75M that that will be spent "on tech bells-and-whistles.” The team has “committed to funding the additional project at no cost to Santa Clara." Meanwhile, the 49ers on Friday also announced a "new lease agreement with the Santa Clara Stadium Authority.” The 49ers had “originally forecast paying the Stadium Authority" $30M per a year in rent to "pay off the authority's construction loans.” The team now will pay $24.5M annually, and MacNeil said that the amount is "lower because the Stadium Authority will take on less debt than first expected” (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 6/8).
