Rolling Stones' Team Criticizes Santa Clara After Levi's Stadium Show

Members of the Rolling Stones' team who arranged the Aug. 18 Levi's Stadium appearance "blasted the city of Santa Clara for micromanaging and imposing 11th-hour changes that make the stadium 'no longer worth the effort to play there,'" according to a front-page piece by Thy Vo of the San Jose MERCURY NEWS. Rolling Stones Site Promoter & Production Manager John Morrison wrote in a letter to Levi's Stadium GM Jim Mercurio, "Your facility is getting so restrictive and dysfunctional, it's no longer worth the effort to play there due to the myriad and random rule changes." Among the "last-minute changes cited by Morrison," the city "cancelled the concert's pyrotechnic show, requested the band's structural engineer fly in to inspect the stage -- cost, $6,000 -- and did not allow stadium catering to feed the performers." Santa Clara City Manager Deanna Santana "rebutted the criticism." She said that the 49ers, which manage and operate Levi's Stadium, "'brought issues very late to the city's attention,' forcing it to make decisions within very short time frames." As for the stadium itself, Morrison "complimented it and said he'd like to return 'under more favorable conditions.'" 49ers VP/Public Affairs & Strategic Communications Rahul Chandhok said that the complaints from the Rolling Stones' staff "reflect a combative city attitude that will ultimately hurt the stadium's ability to book competitive talent." The 49ers have "quarreled with the city over its management since the stadium opened" in '14 (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 9/12).