By Burt Field
Yesterday, I read Santa Clara News Online and thought just when we thought things couldn’t get any worse, they’re getting worse. Funny how that happens when a NFL team owns a City Council.
Welcome to Santa Clara or as some of us say sadly “Yorkville.”
The 49ers seem hellbent on breaking every agreement that they’ve made to Santa Clarans. And the 49er Five are happy to let them get away with it.
The parking revenue settlement is the latest example. It was a three-year deal, the first two went as planned. The 49ers used our golf course. They charged their fans to park their cars. The team made money and the City made money.
So what changed in the 3rd year? The 49ers decided to stiff Santa Clara for over $700,000. Maybe it had something to do with the City beating the team when they tried to unilaterally lower their own rent. After that, the 49ers held back stadium rental payments, parking revenue, and concert revenue. Just a coincidence?
Now after all that, the 49er Five give them a gift of public funds.
This was a winnable case if I ever saw one. Our former City Attorney and other local attorneys said the same thing. A jury trial was set for the end of this month when the facts would be presented clearly. Maybe that’s one of the reasons the 49er Five fired Brian Doyle without cause.
The worst thing is that the pro-49er Councilmembers are not honest about their plans or intelligent with their arguments. Suds Jain said “he was pleased it was behind us.” That quote shows Jain is more loyal to Jed York who spent $3 million to get him and two others elected to the City Council in 2020 than he is to Santa Clara.
Jain’s misguided loyalty also shows that money talks and it corrupts. Jain was quoted in a Mercury News article written by Grace Hase who didn’t even report a basic fact in her story. After you add up the attorneys’ fees, the City is left with zero parking revenue even though the 49ers agreed to pay us. Hase’s story makes it sound like the settlement is a positive thing.
But we’re used to bias reporting from the Mercury News. The 49ers spend a lot of money on advertising in that paper. The reporters and editors can’t afford to offend the team. The Mercury News is a lot like our City Council.
Editor’s Note: Burt Field is co-founder of Stand Up for Santa Clara, a grass-roots watchdog organization born out of the fight to save the Santa Clara Youth Soccer Park in 2015.
[…] I paid over $3 million to buy the City Council. I’m getting some of my money back from the dismissal of the parking revenue lawsuit and lifting of the stadium curfew,” said […]
Suds – You’re citing the actions of someone you fired for job performance, as an example to follow? Or to justify your actions?
Bottom line is that you voted to settle with the same company that paid millions to get you elected – and that is a fact you can never escape. Any decision by you that is related to the 49ers will always be subject to serious scrutiny. Period. This is political election 101 and you should have know that before jumping in bed with lobbyists. Enjoy your legacy.
49ers ROI
49er Return on Investment, they spent 3 million for their bought and paid for council. Ok SC citizens now do you see how the game is played. Money from the parking lot was to be used to off set public safety cost at the stadium per the agreement. Thanks to the SC 5 council, now we can pay for the off set. This should be a crime, so pathetic.
Well, since Burt Field’s misinformation is printed again here on this fair and balanced blog, I’m going to repost my comment from yesterday:
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Interestingly enough, the City offered to settle for $500K when Brian Doyle was City Attorney. So given that $500K is less than $750K, even Brian Doyle was offering a “gift of public funds” according to our intrepid blogger. BUT it turns out legal settlements are pretty much never “gifts of public funds”. It seems that some people in the City never want to settle and sometimes that ends up costing the City millions, including $1.5 million to the City’s CVRA attorney.
settlements are gifts of public funds when you sell out on behalf of the corporate big wigs you meet with every week, suds!
I have more respect for the stuff I pick out of my teeth than I do for Suds