I mostly agree with your post, but you over complicate the reasons why they stadium was built: I think it boils down to the fact the city council was just really gung-ho and excited about pro-football–the illogic of the stadium be damned. It was very clear and easy to see that from the city’s health that this was and remains a super bad idea (btw–how much money has the stadium to date provided to the schools?–hahaha).

I’m a bit perplexed about Karen Hardy being pro-stadium/49ers now. She was a vehement opponent of the stadium before it was built. What changed? Is she just trying her best to salvage a bad situation?

Levi’s Stadium is owned by the City of Santa Clara. Its construction was financed mainly by the City’s Stadium Authority with total costs of more than $1.3 billion after approval by voters in 2009 and after agreement on a leasing arrangement with the San Francisco 49ers. The project’s feasibility and its benefits to the City at the time were not so clear-cut (https://www.sfgate.com/49ers/article/Levi-s-Stadium-The-1-3-billion-bet-5687409.php#photo-6723396). The stadium was leased to the San Francisco 49ers organization in 2014. Owner Jed York and the 49ers signed a contract regarding the terms and conditions for use of the stadium with the Stadium Authority that year but, since then, have repeatedly attempted to take advantage of City resources and to water down the terms of their lease arrangement. (The Stadium Authority Board, by the way, are the members of the City Council https://www.santaclaraca.gov/our-city/santa-clara-stadium-authority/stadium-authority-board.)

The City successfully repulsed 49er attempts to acquire other City property and successfully defended the terms of the agreed contract in court. In general, Mayor Gillmor and the pre-2020 Council majority did not back down in the face of 49er encroachments and 49er public relations campaigns to discredit and intimidate that Council majority. During those years, City Attorney Doyle essentially played the role of nose tackle in the City’s defense strategy, consistently defeating the 49ers’ offensive and pernicious ground game (https://howtheyplay.com/team-sports/Offensive-and-Defensive-Football-Positions-Explained).

Owner Jed York’s “Plan B” was what amounted to a hostile takeover of the Santa Clara City Council through an unprecedented and massive electoral intervention in 2020. As noted in Mr. Nortclaw’s reporting, York spent $3 million in support of four 49er-friendly council candidates, of whom three prevailed–Anthony Becker (District 6), Suds Jain (District 5) and Kevin Park (District 4). When combined with the two existing “pro-49er” Council incumbents (Vice Mayor Raj Chahal (District 2) and Karen Hardy (District 3)), York helped put into place what looks to be a fairly pliant 5-2 Council majority. This cleared the path for advantageous modifications to the Levi’s Stadium lease and other arrangements in favor of the 49ers organization (see https://sanjosespotlight.com/santa-clara-council-candidates-49ers-police-union-point-fingers-over-campaign-donations/ and https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/10/25/opinion-santa-clara/).

Since the 2020 election, there have been pitched skirmishes, some of them made public, between Mayor Gillmor and Councilmember Watanabe (District 1), the last remaining “anti-49er” ally of the mayor, and the rest of the Council members. The issues included calls for transparency regarding the content of meetings between “pro-49er” Councilmembers and 49er representatives, as well as transparency about meetings with all lobbyists with business with the City, including those involving Mayor Gillmor (https://www.sanjoseinside.com/the-fly/gillmor-could-get-more-than-expected-in-transparency-pitch/; https://www.sanjoseinside.com/news/watanabe-faces-call-for-censure-accusations-of-patterned-behavior-after-aapi-rally-rebuff/).

Santa Clara has a history of being a well-run and well-financed municipality due, in large part, to its direct public ownership of “business type” assets, e.g. the electric utility, the water utility, the sewer utility, the water recycling utility, the Mission City Cemetery, the Santa Clara Convention Center, and sports and recreational facilities. These public entities collectively bring in more than twice the revenues collected by the City via taxes and fees. Such publicly-owned enterprises allow the City to maintain superior infrastructure, facilities and services for its 130,000 residents at lower cost (see the easy to follow monthly financial status reports https://www.santaclaraca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/74346/637601236461870000). Publicly-owned enterprises have made Santa Clara a more affordable and pleasant place to live (ask residents of Santa Clara about how reasonable their electric bill is or about the free City-wide wifi service). These are vitally important for city residents’ quality of life.

While the Stadium Authority is a separate entity and the City is not liable for the debts or obligations of the Stadium Authority (https://www.santaclaraca.gov/our-city/santa-clara-stadium-authority),
the public investment in building Levi’s Stadium and entering into a partnership with Jed York and the 49ers was a calculated gamble to bolster the City’s surplus revenue-earning assets, as well as its stature and exposure regionally and nationally. With Levi’s Stadium’s economic viability in the post-COVID-19 era uncertain, the Stadium Authority could be saddled with financial obligations and burdens it could not previously anticipate and that could negatively affect its finances and services.
This is in addition to any further encroachments and costs that the City might end up absorbing now that there is a majority of Council members beholden to York and his business interests.

As such, there is a significant threat to the integrity of a city that has historically distinguished itself by its relatively strong finances and high-quality services. It appears the 49ers’ push to eliminate Mr. Doyle is part of their strategy to turn the table against the Stadium Authority and in favor of concessions that will bolster York’s profit-making potential The potentially destructive power that billionaire York and the 49ers now wield in Santa Clara constitutes a clear and present danger, a massive and unparalleled intrusion into City governance.

The Santa Clara City Council is well known for administrative blunders and failed appeasements to the SF49ers.

The City of Santa Clara would be well advised to “release” the City Manager in lieu of Mr. Doyle.

David S. Wall

“You have targets on your backs”