If Santa Clara succeeds, the 49ers would no longer book and manage stadium events unrelated to the NFLGETTY IMAGES
The 49ers filed a lawsuit to "block Santa Clara's attempt to end the team's management of non-football events at Levi's Stadium," according to Thy Vo of the San Jose MERCURY NEWS. The lawsuit filed on Friday "comes in the wake of the City Council's vote Tuesday to terminate the 49ers' management agreement, effective Nov. 15." City officials "contend the team misrepresented its experience in managing 'public assembly facilities' and has violated city and state rules governing public contracts and prevailing wages." Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor in a tweet Friday night "doubled down on those claims." She tweeted, "We terminated the 49ers non-NFL events agreement because we discovered fraud and wage theft. They mismanaged a public facility. Net profits plunge from around $5 million to $0 in two years." If the city succeeds, the 49ers would "no longer book and manage stadium events unrelated" to NFL games and activities. Santa Clara "owns Levi's Stadium and leases the facility to the 49ers." The team is "responsible for managing it year-round and generating revenue to be shared with the city through concerts and other non-NFL events." The 49ers' lawsuit "asks a judge to invalidate the city's notice to terminate the agreement and denies the team committed fraud or broke terms of their agreement." It also argues the "decline in revenue was due to 'vacillating, arbitrary, and onerous restrictions placed on operation'" of the stadium (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 9/21).
