Mayor hopeful about Niners
By: Brent Begin
Examiner Staff Writer
June 1, 2009
A deal to build a new 49ers stadium south of The City will probably be approved by the Santa Clara City Council Tuesday, but San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is warning voters the deal may not be so sweet.
Terms of the agreement have Santa Clara investing $79 million in the $937 million stadium project.
The deal, which will go before voters next year, takes money away from economic development and puts it into “subsidizing a giant stadium for 10 games a year,” Newsom told The Examiner on Monday.
The remaining cost of the facility will be almost entirely covered by the 49ers, the NFL and naming rights, according to the team.
San Francisco, however, still has a few tricks in its playbook. The NFL stadium fund is empty. Stadium naming rights could cause a salary-cap fight with the NFL Players Association. And, the city of Santa Clara still has a lot of work to do.
“I think people should caution the exuberance down in Santa Clara with some reality,” Newsom said. “They don’t have the financing for a stadium. They don’t have voter approval. They haven’t done the environmental work.”
San Francisco voters have already approved a land-use plan for the former naval base at Hunters Point, where a new stadium could be built if the team stays in The City. The developer, Lennar Corp., has promised to give the 49ers $100 million in cash. The environmental review started in June 2008.
“We’re so much further ahead it’s almost comedic,” Newsom said. And if the fight ever goes to the trenches, The City could sue
for the naming rights of not only “San Francisco” but also the “49ers,” he said.
Stadium tussle
Details of the 49ers plans to build a new stadium:
$937 million Cost of stadium
$825 million Cost to 49ers
$79 million Cost to Santa Clara
$42 million Redevelopment Agency funds
$20 million Municipal utility money to replace an aging power station
bbegin@sfexaminer.com
