By Khalida Sarwari
The San Francisco 49ers and a coalition of Santa Clara restaurant owners came together at the team’s training facility today to show support for a proposal to bring the team south.
The “Diners for Niners” event was planned in response to an agreement reached between the team and the city of Santa Clara to construct a $937 million, 68,500-seat stadium next to the Great America amusement park. The term sheet for the agreement was approved by the City Council at the end of its marathon June 2 meeting.
The proposal still has to be approved by Santa Clara voters, and a measure will be placed on the ballot sometime next spring.
Steven Dutra, the organizer of “Diners for Niners” and owner of Mondo Burrito, said business generated by events at the stadium would be a huge boost for the local economy.
“It’s obvious that stadium businesses are good for restaurants,” Dutra said.
Dutra and owners of seven local restaurants displayed a lavish buffet of menu items named after 49ers players, to the amusement of many of the athletes who dropped by after practice. Fullback Zak Keasey broke into a smile after one bite of the “Baby Zak Ribs” prepared by Andy’s Bar-B-Que, and remarked that it was “pretty good.”
Keasey said that although he is not closely following the stadium talks, he would not mind playing in Santa Clara.
“It seems to be good for the people and we have a lot of fans up here,” Keasey said.
“I think everybody’s excited about it,” agreed quarterback Shaun Hill.
Hill said he also hasn’t kept up with the news about the stadium project but that he plans to learn more during the off-season.
Lou Mariani Jr., owner of Mariani’s Inn and Restaurant, deemed the venture a worthwhile investment for the city. He noted that the struggling economy would undoubtedly factor into whether residents vote to pass the measure, but said that the benefits of building the stadium may become apparent a decade from now.
Team spokesman Steve Fine said the stadium deal would be mutually beneficial to the team and the city because it would secure a long-term future for the team and promote economic growth in the Santa Clara. Fine said fans deserve a new state-of-the-art stadium.
