By Robert Haugh
Two weeks ago, the 49er Five fast-tracked a sole-source contract with Fanatics, a sports merchandise retailer, to sell items at Levi’s Stadium during non-NFL games.
The 49ers lobbied heavily for the City Council to bypass a competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) that would have allowed other vendors to compete for the business.
At that meeting, Mayor Lisa Gillmor asked if Fanatics had any conflicts of interest.
City staff froze and deferred to 49ers lawyer-lobbyist Jihad Beauchman, who flatly said none existed.
The vote two weeks ago was 5-2. Councilmembers Raj Chahal, Albert Gonzalez, Karen Hardy, Suds Jain, and Kevin Park voted for it.
These members of the 49er Five were elected with millions of dollars of the team’s support through independent expenditures.
Gillmor and Vice Mayor Kelly Cox voted against the motion.
A few days after the 5-2 vote, a Santa Clara News Online (SCNO) special investigative report uncovered the NFL’s $320 million stake in Fanatics. That means every NFL franchise, including the 49ers, shares in the company’s profits.
After reviewing SCNO’s research, ethicist Dr. Tom Shanks criticized the vote and the process.
“The 49ers representative (Beauchman) appears to have been deceptive by denying any conflict existed,” Shanks said a few weeks ago.
Shanks called the episode “another example of the Stadium Authority acting more like 49er employees than guardians of the public’s interest.”
At last night’s City Council meeting, former City Attorney Brian Doyle laid out the legal risk.
“This represents an apparent conflict of interest by ManCo (the 49ers management company) representative Jihad Beauchman, who was a designated consultant under the Stadium Authority’s Conflict of Interest Code,” said Doyle.
“Because there is a potential, reasonable potential impact on Mr. Beauchman’s financial positions with the 49ers organization, he was prohibited from even participating … in your making of the decision.”
Doyle urged the Council to rescind the vote, gather more facts, or pursue a full RFP.
“That way, you can be assured that you had a fair process. Nobody gets hurt. The 49ers don’t get accused of … breaching their management agreement, and Mr. Beauchman can keep his bar license,” said Doyle.
The City Council unanimously asked City Attorney Glen Googins to investigate the conflict of interest and report back at the next meeting.
That’s a rare move for the 49er Five.
This is a developing story.
[…] later, an SCNO investigative report disclosed the NFL […]
Beauchman was part of the Becker Chandhok caper. He and Jain urged Chandhok to go after lisa.
Thank you to Brian Doyle for being a consistent watchdog with these contracts and calling out conflicts. I am just amazed that the reconsideration was a unanimous vote to send it back to legal counsel. Let’s see what happens the next go round. No doubt a plan is being hatched. I witnessed enough over 8 years.
Wow, anytime you see this
“The 49ers lobbied heavily for the City Council to bypass a competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) that would have allowed other vendors to compete for the business.”
you can be sure it smells like a large pile of fresh excrement.
Being sent to Googins.
New York investigation into Fanatics partnerships with NFL teams
City Council BEWARE. Jihad is not a person of integrity or morals. You will learn soon.
Thanks for the heads up, but “49ers lawyer-lobbyist” kinda says it all.