By Robert Haugh
The 49ers’ long-running heat problem at Levi’s Stadium doesn’t have an easy fix.
But a confidential architectural study and a broadcaster with aviation expertise suggest the team may not have been fully transparent with fans.
In a new video, Brodie Brazil revealed a previously confidential report prepared by MEIS Architects in 2015. Brazil is a broadcaster and commercial pilot.
The study explored a retractable canopy and other upgrades to improve the fan experience. The estimated price tag was about $500 million, according to Brazil. The report has never been discussed publicly at a Santa Clara City Council meeting.
Levi’s Stadium peaks at 176 feet. Planes landing at nearby Mineta San Jose International Airport are required to be at least 520 feet above the ground at 1.4 miles out. That leaves a few hundred feet of clearance.
While the 49ers have argued that this makes shade structures impossible, Brazil believes there’s enough clearance to allow for vertical additions without violating FAA flight path rules.
Instead of a shade structure, the 49ers have turned to scheduling tweaks. Levi’s Stadium will host just two early-season games in 2025, both set for 5:30 p.m. kickoffs to avoid the heat. Still, the eastern stands remain exposed to scorching September conditions, leaving fans frustrated.
Brodie’s analysis raises questions about comments made by 49ers President Al Guido. “We can’t add shade. It’s not possible,” Guido said. “We cannot add shade. We cannot build a roof.”
Brazil’s review of the confidential study suggests the team seriously considered shade options—and only abandoned them due to cost and other factors, not outright impossibility.
This would not be the first time in Santa Clara that Guido was not transparent or honest with the public.
In 2013, The City attempted to drop the team’s stadium management contract because of Guido’s conflict of interest.
Guido also had a conflict of interest, but negotiated a contract with FIFA for World Cup games in 2026 that could leave Santa Clara residents paying tens of millions of dollars.
And just a few days ago, former City Manager Deanna Santana filed a lawsuit against the City because the 49er Five on the City Council fired her, she alleges, for exposing Guido.
The stadium was built on the wrong site. My nephew has worked and researched this extensively.
The soccer parents were badly impacted by this as well as York’s ripping a deal he made with them. Great America insisted on the present site and the city administration at the time, which did not include Gillmor, made this decision. Gillmor did not get on the Cpuncil until after 2010. Great America challenged the EIR and were accommodated even though their property was city land.