By Khalida Sarwari
The Santa Clara City Council on Tuesday night approved an agreement that allows the San Francisco 49ers to build the planned $1 billion stadium on the Great America parking lot and use the space for games and events.
The city council and Santa Clara Stadium Authority voted 4-2 on a deal between the team, the city, the Stadium Authority, and Cedar Fair Entertainment, the Ohio-based company that owns the theme park, ending a lawsuit by Cedar Fair challenging the project over Great America’s parking lot.
“This deal goes a long way toward providing added parking,” said Councilman Pat Kolstad. “I think it’s a brilliant, well-crafted agreement.”
The agreement allows the 49ers to build a stadium on the overflow parking lot and let fans use the main lot — which would be reconfigured to include up to 7,000 spaces — during games and events.
The 49ers would pay Cedar Fair $12.5 million a year for parking rights. The land under Great America is owned by the city.
The deal also allows Cedar Fair to extend its lease with the city from 2039 to 2074, with minimal rent increases during that period. The current annual rent of $5.3 million would continue.
“I don’t understand how that could not be a general fund impact,” said Councilman Will Kennedy, who, along with Councilwoman Jamie McLeod, cast a dissenting vote. “This is a lot of money — $5.3 million. To have that chiseled away by inflation is, I think, way too much to give up.”
Last month, the council approved a financing plan involving Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and U.S. Bank. The three banks have agreed to loan the city $850 million, the majority of which the city is planning to pay back with revenues from the stadium.
This spring, the council is expected to consider the final finance plan, development budget, and stadium lease.
Construction of the 68,000-seat stadium is set to begin this year.
