Will Kennedy speaks to
Santa Clara Plays Fair
(id SCvoter on youtube.com)
on Reason #7 of the
top 10 reasons
to Vote No on Santa Clara Measure J
The stadium would be run by the "Stadium Authority," which would be a new branch of the city government. The 49ers, though, have the right to approve or disapprove the stadium budget. The 49ers are only responsible for paying operations and maintenance costs which they say are "reasonable."
Disagreements are likely to occur as to what the 49ers have to pay for, especially as the stadium ages and expensive renovations are required. The city has no way to force the 49ers to pay more if the maintenance is insufficient because the 49ers make the final decision and will not submit to binding arbitration of disputes. It is not clear who would end up paying for repairs if the 49ers choose not to.
A similar arrangement exists for public safety costs. The 49ers will pay a pre-negotiated amount for public safety costs. However, if the city has miscalculated, and doesn't have enough to cover the public safety costs, the 49ers cannot be required to pay more unless the shortfall results from specific new security rules which may be imposed by the NFL in the future.
Source: Term Sheet, Section 9.1 (Operations and Maintenance Issue)
Source: Agenda Report, 6/2/09 Page 5 (Operations and Maintenance Issue)
Source: Term Sheet, Attachment C (Public Safety Issue)
