Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor described the city’s relationship with the 49ers as a “David and Goliath” scenario in which the city “did not have the specialized expertise required to ensure that it was getting its promised return on investment,” according to John Diaz of the S.F. CHRONICLE. Gillmor, speaking with the newspaper’s editorial board, said, “We learned we cannot trust the 49ers. They are our partners, but they have exploited what we’ve tried to do in the city. They recognized the fact that we were ill prepared ... they were professional; they knew what they were doing.” The city and team partnered on the financing for the $1.2B stadium, but the strains that “began when the 49ers wanted to take over youth soccer fields in the shadow of the stadium have only intensified.” The city and the team have been “fighting over the accounting of revenue due the city, security cost overruns, curfew violations and the 49ers’ request for a rent reduction.” The November election “became a bit of a referendum on the 49ers; three of the four City Council candidates considered friendliest to the team were defeated.” Team President Al Guido suggested that the 49ers “have been unfairly maligned in ‘political grandstanding’ by Gillmor and other elected officials.” Guido: “We got into this agreement knowing that we were getting into a 40-year relationship with the city and we were not always going to see eye to eye.”
SHARED DATA PLAN? Diaz noted the “most significant dispute is about revenue sharing.” The 49ers, who manage the stadium, “keep all football revenue and share non-NFL profits with the city.” Gillmor said, “We are not able to verify the numbers they give us. They lump them together without detailed financial information in dozens of areas. Dozens.” Guido said that the 49ers have been “willing to show -- but not turn over -- the detailed records to the city about concerts and other non-NFL events.” Their concern was that “public disclosure of expenses and profits could put the stadium at a disadvantage in negotiations with promoters.” Gillmor said that she “hopes Santa Clara’s experience could become ‘kind of a model’ for other cities going into partnerships with professional sports franchises” (S.F. CHRONICLE, 6/3).
