On the heels of accusations by Santa Clara mayor Lisa Gillmor that the San Francisco 49ers are using money from the city’s General Fund for stadium maintenance costs, the organization has fired back with a strongly worded statement, claiming that the allegations are ‘false and irresponsible’.
This all dates back to 2010 ballot Measure J, that helped get the Levi’s Stadium project off the ground, and included language that stipulated the team would not use money from the city’s General Fund for operations and maintenance costs. Due to complaints that the 49ers have broken the agreement, a grand jury was convened to audit the organization, but is still waiting on crucial documents from the Niners.
The delay in making these documents available caused Gillmor to claim that not only are the 49ers in breach of the agreement, but threatened that the city may soon be forced to take control of the stadium.
That threat lead to the 49ers statement on Saturday evening, claiming that the team has actually but putting money into the fund, rather than taking it:
“The Mayor’s accusations that money is going from the City’s General Fund into the stadium are false and irresponsible. As the Mayor surely knows, since she voted for the agreements, the stadium does not use general fund money. In fact, funds are flowing into the General Fund from the stadium. The 49ers Stadium Management Company has generated over $5.5 million for the City’s General Fund over the last two years, plus an additional $2 million in fees to the City. On top of that, another $2 million has also gone to the Discretionary Fund.”
“The successful management of Levi’s Stadium by the 49ers Stadium Management Company has allowed the Santa Clara Stadium Authority to reduce its outstanding debt by over $200 million since opening, and fund over $16 million in cash reserves. Those figures do not even include the significant increase in sales and hotel tax revenues generated by the stadium, hotels and other local businesses that will contribute to the Santa Clara General Fund on an annual basis as a direct result of the ongoing operation of Levi’s Stadium.”
The organization claims they will be releasing the documents on Monday, which should help clarify the situation, and reveal whether or not the mayor’s claims are legitimate or a political ploy used to garner support for a number of Gillmor supported anti-49ers candidates as the November 8 election approaches.