By Robert Haugh

Four months after Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara is still waiting to be reimbursed for almost $5 million.

According to a new San Francisco Chronicle report by Ron Kroichick and Lance Williams, the Bay Area Host Committee (BAHC) has reimbursed the City for nearly $3 million in Super Bowl expenses. But about $5 million in invoices are still pending.

And Santa Clara is just days away from hosting the first of six World Cup matches at Levi’s Stadium that will be way more costly. 

The BAHC is a 49ers-founded and controlled nonprofit. They are responsible for reimbursing the City for Super Bowl and World Cup expenses. The 49ers agreed to backstop the committee if its fundraising falls short.

But the deal requires Santa Clara to pay costs up front, submit invoices, and allow the BAHC to challenge those invoices. Disputes can go to confidential binding arbitration.

Mayor Lisa Gillmor opposed that structure from the beginning. She told the Chronicle her concerns are now being realized.

“The majority of money has not been reimbursed,” Gillmor said, according to the Chronicle. “And I don’t know where it is in the process.”

Former City Attorney Brian Doyle was even more blunt. He called the agreement “abysmal” for Santa Clara and said the 49ers, not the City, should have been required to pay the Super Bowl costs up front.

“It’s interesting that the Bay Area Host Committee can do an analysis of the financial impact of the Super Bowl, but the city can’t even figure out how much money they spent on it,” Doyle told the Chronicle.

The report also undercut the BAHC claim that Super Bowl LX generated a $720 million economic boost for the Bay Area.

Two economists contacted by the Chronicle dismissed the figure.

Victor Matheson, a Holy Cross professor who has studied Super Bowl finances for more than two decades, called the numbers “laughable.” 

Roger Noll, a Stanford economics professor emeritus and longtime sports finance expert, also rejected the study. He suggested the oversized estimate was more political than economic.

A BAHC spokesperson blamed the City staff for slow reimbursements, saying the City sent invoices late and did not provide enough supporting documentation.

The City staff has also been months late in updating the public dashboard of Super Bowl expenses, as City Manager Jovan Grogan promised.  

The Chronicle story follows the May 26 City Council meeting, when Gillmor asked for a public report on Super Bowl and World Cup costs and reimbursements. The motion failed 4-3, as Santa Clara News Online reported on May 27.

Gillmor, Vice Mayor Kelly Cox, and Councilmember Albert Gonzalez supported the request.

Councilmembers Raj Chahal, Suds Jain, Karen Hardy and Kevin Park opposed it. They all received millions of dollars in campaign help from 49er independent expenditures.  According to multiple Grand Jury reports, they have consistently and repeatedly voted to favor the team over Santa Clara taxpayers.