By Robert Haugh
Tomorrow evening, the Santa Clara City Council has a special study session for an informational item on the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The agenda has few attachments with most of the financial data redacted.
The City is on the hook for what appears to be millions in improvements at Levi’s Stadium to cater to FIFA demands.
According to a May 2024 story that the San Francisco Chronicle broke, 49ers CEO Al Guido signed World Cup deals that could cost Santa Clara $38 million. Guido did it without an official City Council vote.
Notably, Guido is the signer for both the Bay Area Host Committee AND the Santa Clara Stadium Authority.
[…] May 2024, they reported that 49ers CEO Al Guido signed World Cup deals that could cost Santa Clara $38 million. Guido […]
The first question I have is why does the City of Santa Clara refuse to release unredacted copies of the agreements when the City of Seattle has released completely unredacted copies as shown in this article:
https://thebreaker.news/news/seattle-2026-stadium-deal-released/
This article also discussed Vancouver’s contract. Their public expenditures are pretty eye-popping:
“In January, the province (British Columbia) shifted responsibility to City of Vancouver for $230 million in costs and gave it temporary authority to charge a 2.5% accommodation tax through 2030. The province said Vancouver city hall was planning to spend $73 million for security and safety, $40 million for venues, $20 million for the FIFA Fan Festival, $15 million for a host city office, administration and volunteer service, $14 million for traffic and stadium zone management, $8 million for decoration and brand protection, and $8 million for insurance. The budget includes a $52 million contingency.”
These deals were worked out back in 2023. Meanwhile the taxpayers of Santa Clara remain in the dark at the end of 2024.