By Robert Haugh
The 49ers took a small victory lap at Tuesday night’s Santa Clara City Council meeting for helping local youth soccer players displaced by Super Bowl LX.
There’s just one problem.
The soccer groups apparently still haven’t been paid.
During the August 18 City Council’s “Special Order of Business,” the Council recognized a $15,000 grant from the 49ers. It was to help youth sports organizations cover expenses caused by losing access to the Youth Soccer Park.
The park was unavailable during parts of January and February because the NFL had exclusive use of the facility for Super Bowl LX. According to the City, the $15,000 grant can pay for replacement fields, City fees, staff costs and third-party facility rentals.
Sounds good.
But two sources familiar with the situation tell Santa Clara News Online that the affected youth soccer organizations submitted their reimbursement requests back in February. That was about six months ago. And they’re still waiting for payment.
SCNO has not figured out if the delay is caused by the City’s bureaucracy. Or the expenses are being reviewed or questioned by the 49ers. That second possibility has happened for bigger bills.
After Super Bowl LX, Santa Clara found itself waiting months for millions of dollars in reimbursements from the Bay Area Host Committee (BAHC), the nonprofit created and controlled by the 49ers.
In June, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that BAHC had reimbursed Santa Clara nearly $3 million but that approximately $5 million in additional Super Bowl invoices remained pending.
Under that agreement, Santa Clara pays expenses first and then submits invoices for reimbursement. BAHC can review and challenge those expenses.
The BAHC blamed some of those delays on the City. The team said that Santa Clara submitted invoices late or without sufficient documentation.
So either explanation is possible with the soccer reimbursements.
But after six months, the organizations that gave up their fields for the Super Bowl deserve an answer and their money.