49ers President & CEO Jed York yesterday said that the team “will begin the final -- and most critical stage -- of turning its $1 billion Santa Clara stadium into a reality: Convincing the league, sponsors and banks the project is worth funding,” according to Mike Rosenberg of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. York said that he is “now more confident the project will be built in time for the 2015 football season.” York: “A 10-year labor deal makes it so much easier to finance a building and go out and talk to a sponsor.” York “would not say how much financial help he expects from the league, but noted there is language in the deal specifying ‘carve out’ funds for teams trying to build stadiums in California.” He said, “There are more than enough (stadium credits) to accommodate several new stadiums being built.” York also said that it is “possible the league could establish a successor to the now-dried up G-3 loan program that helped several teams build stadiums last decade.” Rosenberg notes the 49ers still need to secure “three-fourths of the funding” for the $987M facility (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 7/27). York yesterday reiterated that he is “open to sharing a stadium with the Raiders and said he has talked to Santa Clara officials about that possibility.” He said that the league has “not pressured the 49ers and Raiders to combine their stadium efforts” (S.F. CHRONICLE, 7/27). Raiders Chief Exec Amy Trask said that the team “continues to collaborate with the 49ers and learn about the Santa Clara project -- which is being designed for two teams -- but agreed with York that there are no plans to join together” (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 7/27).
MOVE-IN FEE: In San Diego, Matthew Hall reports L.A. officials in the tentative financing plan for AEG's Farmers Field indicated that the NFL "could charge more than $500 million for a team relocation fee, forcing a team to operate at a loss for years." Conventions Sports & Leisure Int'l, which is consulting for the L.A. officials, wrote it is "almost certain that AEG will be responsible for at least a portion of those fees." But Hall writes "any team wishing to move would have to weigh the impact on its bottom line," since $500M or more is a "large number." Still, the consultants estimated that the "annual operating income for an NFL team at Farmers Field would be $53 million." Forbes' latest estimate for the Chargers, who are often named as a possible relocation candidate, is "less than half that," at $24.7M (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 7/27). In San Diego, Tim Sullivan writes the "threat that L.A. will eventually filch the Chargers franchise is logical, real and ever-present, but it is no more ominous today than it was last month." AEG "has done a tremendous job of creating the appearance of momentum ... but its financial hurdles are still formidable, significant regulatory obstacles remain, and no one has yet sunk a shovel in soil." Sullivan writes if he were Chargers President & CEO Dean Spanos, he still would be "looking for a deal in San Diego, at least until the L.A. option is more than an outline" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 7/27).
