The dispute centered around how the team benefits from the stadium during events besides 49ers gamesGETTY IMAGES
Santa Clara County will have to pay $36M in tax refunds to the 49ers after the "beleaguered football team chalked up a rare victory at the county assessment appeals board," according to J.K. Dineen of the S.F. CHRONICLE. In a decision yesterday, the appeals board "cut the property tax that the team has to pay on Levi’s Stadium by a whopping half," from about $12M a year to about $6M. Because the tax dispute "goes back several years, the county must refund the team" a lump sum of $30.8M by June and give back another $5.2M later this year. Santa Clara County Assessor Lawrence Stone called the decision "shocking and unexpected" and said it will have "significant financial consequences," especially for the Santa Clara Unified School District, which will have to refund just over $13M to the team. He said that the county "will have to refund" $5.3M. The dispute "focused on what extent the 49ers privately benefit from Levi’s Stadium during events besides 49ers games." The team argued that it "benefits only during football seasons, while the county contended that the team benefits financially during a slew of other events, like concerts" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 1/24). Stone said that even though the 49ers have "primary scheduling rights for only half the year, he believes there is significant value to the team being able to control the facility and from the events it books outside the football season" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 1/24). Businesses frequently contest the taxes owed based on the assessed value of physical assets, in this case a stadium (Daniel Kaplan, THE DAILY).
