49ers Stadium: Can it be? A Term Sheet?

At last. Maybe.

After two years of secrecy, SIXTY-EIGHT closed-session meetings and $1.1 MILLION of RDA money spent on consultants' fees: Your City Council has set a date for a public session so that we can finally see the 49ers' stadium "term sheet".

This public session will be held on Tuesday evening, June 2, 2009, at 7:00 p.m. in City Council Chambers.

Santa Clara Plays Fair urges as many residents as can possibly attend to be there - and that they make themselves heard.

Now, actual dollar figures will be scarce until the Agenda for this meeting appears on the City Clerk's Agenda webpage, probably on Friday evening, May 29th. However, there is a dollar figure that SCPF urges Santa Clarans to insist upon:

$0.00.

That means, "NO SUBSIDY". But last evening, it became abundantly clear even from the limited information that City Council was willing to share that they still insist upon spending public money, probably close to ONE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS, to subsidize an NFL stadium costing a cool BILLION.

That is just plain wrong - especially considering the economic turmoil in which we now find ourselves and our City. We highly recommend that all Santa Clarans speak out, and that they reject this subsidy out of hand - loudly, often and in Chambers on June the 2nd.

Is it unrealistic to insist upon the "zero dollar" figure above? Not at all. One need examine only the funding of the Meadowlands Stadium for two other NFL teams, the New York Jets and Giants. The two teams secured 100% private financing, with the NFL chipping in. Total cost? $1.6 Billion - 60% MORE than the subsidized stadium being forced upon Santa Clara.

And the Meadowlands' public subsidy?:

$0.00.

There is absolutely no reason why that cannot be done here - and both our City Council and the San Francisco 49ers know that.



Thanks for all of your support,

Bill Bailey
Treasurer