We've pointed out before that the 49ers are pouring a lot of money into this campaign to win over the "hearts and minds" of Santa Clara. The Support "Our" Niners website is run by the 49er's PR firm. The glossy stadium campaign flyer is distributed as an ad insert in the Santa Clara Weekly -- its publisher, Miles Barber, just happens to be a "truthy" stadium proponent.
We at StadiumFacts.org don't have that kind of money. But we do have lots of people on our side. There are the 55% of Santa Clarans who told CBS5 that they oppose a stadium if it means giving the 49ers a subsidy. Then there are the citizens who have published serious arguments against the stadium.
We have added a new section to our front page to link to these articles and papers. Scroll down and look for "Citizens speak out" in the column on the right. The first link is to a paper from Erlinda Estrada. Ms. Estrada is the retired Interim Library Director at Mission College, and a lifelong Santa Claran. The second link is to a SJ Mercury News opinion column from Kate Grant, a community activist.
We will add more links to this section as the groundswell continues. If you are aware of other papers from residents, please let us know.
Showing posts with label outside money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label outside money. Show all posts
Friday, June 29, 2007
Saturday, May 26, 2007
"Politicize the debate"
At the May 15 City Council meeting, NotWithMyMoney.org requested that the Council pledge to allow the citizens of Santa Clara to vote on any stadium proposal that would require spending public money. Besides putting off a "yes" or "no" answer, certain Councilmembers also denigrated the citizens who spoke in favor of a vote.
Councilmember Caserta said,
Mayor Mahan said
Hello? Ms. Pot? There is a Mr. Kettle here to see you. Shall I tell him you'll call him black?
Santa Clara residents received a 4-page color pamphlet from the 49ers a few weeks ago. It was distributed as an ad insert in the Santa Clara Weekly newspaper. This paper is delivered unsolicited. The pamphlet looks remarkably like an election flyer. There is a "candidate football player holding cute baby" picture. There is a "candidate football player helping out in the community" picture. There is just about every election pamphlet device except promises of a chicken in every pot.
Here is a sample of election pamphlets:
Look pretty similar, don't they?
So let's see, carpet bombing the city with slick campaign literature. Doing so in May, many many months before the election. An exercise for the reader would be to find out how much money does it take to accomplish this mission.
"Political theater" indeed.
Councilmember Caserta said,
"I just think this is political theater."
Mayor Mahan said
she fears that an election could improperly politicize the debate over a stadium.
Hello? Ms. Pot? There is a Mr. Kettle here to see you. Shall I tell him you'll call him black?
Santa Clara residents received a 4-page color pamphlet from the 49ers a few weeks ago. It was distributed as an ad insert in the Santa Clara Weekly newspaper. This paper is delivered unsolicited. The pamphlet looks remarkably like an election flyer. There is a "
Here is a sample of election pamphlets:
Look pretty similar, don't they?
So let's see, carpet bombing the city with slick campaign literature. Doing so in May, many many months before the election. An exercise for the reader would be to find out how much money does it take to accomplish this mission.
"Political theater" indeed.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
FS: Councilmembers, like new, $___ each
The 49ers came to Santa Clara last night for a question-and-answer session with concerned residents.
OK, quick show of hands, how many people know what is the maximum contribution you can make to a City Council candidate?
John York and Larry MacNeil (the 49ers owner and CFO, respectively) both contributed to Mayor Mahan's 2006 campaign. Both men gave the maximum amount.
Legal? Yes. Ethical? You decide.
It gets better. Jed York claims to be unaware of the contributions from his father and the 49ers CFO. However, he just happens to know exactly what the maximum allowed amount is. What's more, Mr. York also said:
FOR SALE: Councilmembers, like new, $500 each.
--
Campaign contributions are public records. You can look at them here. Search for "Mahan" or any other candidate, or browse by election. The contributions referenced above can be found in the filing from "Mahan for Mayor," dated 10/31/2006, which is an FPPC Form 460, covering the period from 10/22/2006 to 10/27/2006. Look at page 5 of 6. Click on the small copy below for a larger version:
OK, quick show of hands, how many people know what is the maximum contribution you can make to a City Council candidate?
John York and Larry MacNeil (the 49ers owner and CFO, respectively) both contributed to Mayor Mahan's 2006 campaign. Both men gave the maximum amount.
Legal? Yes. Ethical? You decide.
It gets better. Jed York claims to be unaware of the contributions from his father and the 49ers CFO. However, he just happens to know exactly what the maximum allowed amount is. What's more, Mr. York also said:
If a politician can be bought for only $500, I would hate to be represented by them.
FOR SALE: Councilmembers, like new, $500 each.
--
Campaign contributions are public records. You can look at them here. Search for "Mahan" or any other candidate, or browse by election. The contributions referenced above can be found in the filing from "Mahan for Mayor," dated 10/31/2006, which is an FPPC Form 460, covering the period from 10/22/2006 to 10/27/2006. Look at page 5 of 6. Click on the small copy below for a larger version:
.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
The Santa Clara Way
City Council member Dominic Caserta hit the nail on the head when he said,
The decision on building a stadium in Santa Clara — and the larger issue of how to develop the entertainment district — must shun politics, and be made in adherence to our principles of fiscal prudence, consensus building and democracy.
Let's examine these three important principles in detail.
Fiscal Prudence.
I used the 49ers waterfall financial model (slides 15 - 17 of 49ers Proposal) to see what it would take for Santa Clara to break even after 30 years. The Stadium Authority would have to net over $15M annually in non-49ers events just to break even. By the 49ers' own calculations, this would be almost impossible.
It was really interesting to see how this profits the 49ers. In addition to their football profits, the 49ers would get a cut of non-49ers events amounting to over $45M over the life of the stadium.
Wow. The stadium is looking pretty good for the 49ers... Their rent goes down. They get a high tech ballpark & guaranteed capital improvements — increasing their market value significantly. Plus, they make an additional $45M off the backs of Santa Clara — approximately $450 per person.
Sorry Sally, no new bicycle for you, Jed York needs a new yacht.
Consensus building.
A recent CBS5 poll showed that 55% of Santa Clara residents oppose building a new stadium if it meant using public funds. Rather than forcing through a stadium proposal that has so little public support, the city must build consensus on how to best develop the entertainment district.
Building consensus requires effort to develop a proposal that will be an asset to the community. It must bring in a diversity of venues that will ensure high utilization, attract a broad cross-section of the community and keep a large percentage of revenues in the city.
The 49ers proposal achieves none of these goals. By all estimates, the stadium will be utilized between 10 and 30 days out of the year. The remaining 335 days will leave the district with a dark hole that could gobble up every man, woman and child in Milpitas, and still have room for dessert.
Big empty places are scary. Only the foolhardy, the drunks and shady characters will find this behemoth an attraction.
Democracy vs. Politics.
The 49ers have politicized this discussion with their paid consultants and slick sales pitches to City Council and to the community.
Stop the politics. Insist on putting this critical issue before the people on a general election ballot.
We in Santa Clara do things very well. We're fiscally prudent and we make decisions based on consensus building and principles, not politics.
The decision on building a stadium in Santa Clara — and the larger issue of how to develop the entertainment district — must shun politics, and be made in adherence to our principles of fiscal prudence, consensus building and democracy.
Let's examine these three important principles in detail.
Fiscal Prudence.
I used the 49ers waterfall financial model (slides 15 - 17 of 49ers Proposal) to see what it would take for Santa Clara to break even after 30 years. The Stadium Authority would have to net over $15M annually in non-49ers events just to break even. By the 49ers' own calculations, this would be almost impossible.
It was really interesting to see how this profits the 49ers. In addition to their football profits, the 49ers would get a cut of non-49ers events amounting to over $45M over the life of the stadium.
Wow. The stadium is looking pretty good for the 49ers... Their rent goes down. They get a high tech ballpark & guaranteed capital improvements — increasing their market value significantly. Plus, they make an additional $45M off the backs of Santa Clara — approximately $450 per person.
Sorry Sally, no new bicycle for you, Jed York needs a new yacht.
Consensus building.
A recent CBS5 poll showed that 55% of Santa Clara residents oppose building a new stadium if it meant using public funds. Rather than forcing through a stadium proposal that has so little public support, the city must build consensus on how to best develop the entertainment district.
Building consensus requires effort to develop a proposal that will be an asset to the community. It must bring in a diversity of venues that will ensure high utilization, attract a broad cross-section of the community and keep a large percentage of revenues in the city.
The 49ers proposal achieves none of these goals. By all estimates, the stadium will be utilized between 10 and 30 days out of the year. The remaining 335 days will leave the district with a dark hole that could gobble up every man, woman and child in Milpitas, and still have room for dessert.
Big empty places are scary. Only the foolhardy, the drunks and shady characters will find this behemoth an attraction.
Democracy vs. Politics.
The 49ers have politicized this discussion with their paid consultants and slick sales pitches to City Council and to the community.
Stop the politics. Insist on putting this critical issue before the people on a general election ballot.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Who's got outside money?
Santa Clara mayor Mahan claimed that a vote on the stadium would "allow outside opposition money to influence" the debate.
Fine, let's see who's got outside money.
If you have been to City Council meetings recently, you may have seen some stadium supporters waving a sign with the web address supportourniners.com. The people waving the banner were all very nice regular people, so I assumed this is some kind of grassroots supporter's network.
In fact, at one meeting that I attended, I remember the Mayor telling the supporter to hold the sign so that it can be seen by TV cameras. A not-so-discreet thumb pressing on the scales of Justice, but whatever...
However, if you go look at their website, you will see a tiny little logo at the bottom left of the screen that says, "Site design and operation by JA". It is a live link to jathinking.com. Here's a screenshot of it in case they decide to disavow any knowledge of my, err ... their, existence:
Curiouser and curiouser!
Being the Alice-in-Wonderland inquisitive type, I followed that link and suddenly found myself in the big-moneyed world of ... [surprise!] ... the San Francisco 49ers! You see, JA Thinking is something like an ad agency or may be a public relations firm. They are based in Brentwood, TN. (How outside can you get!) They proudly boast that they do $42 million of business with the likes of Taco Bell, KFC, and the 49ers.
So there you have it. The pseudo-grassroots stadium booster website is run by the 49ers' own ad agency. Presumably said ad agency is paid for by the 49ers because
So here's the debate on turning the hen house into a KFC. The supporters are bankrolled by Foxes, Inc. The opposition are, OK fine, a bunch of chicken littles. And da mayor has the gall to throw veiled accusations about "outside" opposition money. Harooomph!
Fine, let's see who's got outside money.
If you have been to City Council meetings recently, you may have seen some stadium supporters waving a sign with the web address supportourniners.com. The people waving the banner were all very nice regular people, so I assumed this is some kind of grassroots supporter's network.
In fact, at one meeting that I attended, I remember the Mayor telling the supporter to hold the sign so that it can be seen by TV cameras. A not-so-discreet thumb pressing on the scales of Justice, but whatever...
However, if you go look at their website, you will see a tiny little logo at the bottom left of the screen that says, "Site design and operation by JA". It is a live link to jathinking.com. Here's a screenshot of it in case they decide to disavow any knowledge of my, err ... their, existence:
Curiouser and curiouser!
Being the Alice-in-Wonderland inquisitive type, I followed that link and suddenly found myself in the big-moneyed world of ... [surprise!] ... the San Francisco 49ers! You see, JA Thinking is something like an ad agency or may be a public relations firm. They are based in Brentwood, TN. (How outside can you get!) They proudly boast that they do $42 million of business with the likes of Taco Bell, KFC, and the 49ers.
So there you have it. The pseudo-grassroots stadium booster website is run by the 49ers' own ad agency. Presumably said ad agency is paid for by the 49ers because
- why in sand hill would some bidness people in Tennessee give a horsefeather about a stadium all the way out there in California?
- what kind of grassroots organization can afford a national ad agency, and if they got that kind of money, I respectfully submit that they are, by definition, no longer grassroots.
So here's the debate on turning the hen house into a KFC. The supporters are bankrolled by Foxes, Inc. The opposition are, OK fine, a bunch of chicken littles. And da mayor has the gall to throw veiled accusations about "outside" opposition money. Harooomph!
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