49ers' Stadium Subsidy Ticker: 112 Secret Meetings with the 49ers, and now the NFL's Getting into the Act

Dear Santa Clarans,

With the City Council Agenda for this coming Tuesday, January 8th, the secrecy of the Closed Sessions may be taking a new and interesting turn.

Instead of the 49ers and our Council concealing negotiations over five little stadium parcels we already know about, the NFL Commissioner himself will be helping Council conceal the dealing over the NINE little stadium parcels we already know about:

:
and
Conference with Real Property Negotiator
Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.8
Property:  APN 104-43-030; APN 104-42-019; APN 104-55-017; APN 104-55-016; APN 104-43-052;
APN 104-43-051; APN 104-43-004; APN 104-42-014; APN 104-43-049;
Negotiating Party(ies):  Roger Goodell, Commissioner (or his designee),
National Football League, a not-for-profit trade association under Section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code;
City Negotiator: Alan Kurotori, Acting City Manager (or his designee)
Under Negotiation:  Purchase/Sale/Exchange/Lease of Real Property
(provisions, price and terms of payment)

 

With the shuttering of our RDA by the State, and now the County's rather shocking audit of our defunct agency, - citing six of the nine parcels listed above - it's well past time to dump the Confidentiality Agreement of May, 2007.  Our City Council should tell the whole truth about the desperate parking of former RDA assets among the other Santa Clara city agencies.  These stats are the reason why:

112:

The number of secret Closed Sessions that our City Council or Agencies have held with the San Francisco 49ers or other parties concerning the stadium site and parcels since May 1st, 2007.  See here.  

$3,650,000:

The total of Santa Clara Agency cash paid to 49ers consultants since April 3rd, 2007.

The public business of our city does not constitute private information "belonging" to the 49ers - or to the NFL.   Our City Council should be asserting that.

Let's dump Santa Clara's "Official Secrets Act of 2007."  It's bad government.


 

Best regards,

Bill Bailey, Treasurer,
Santa Clara Plays Fair.org

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Why we keep count.

Help the effort for a referendum!

Santa Clara Plays Fair is organizing a referendum petition drive to give voters the right to determine whether or not the stadium deal is good for Santa Clara. The costs outlined in the Measure J campaign are VERY different from the deal the City Council approved last month. The current deal calls for the 49ers to pay NOTHING towards the construction costs, and calls for the Stadium Authority to take responsibility for $850,000,000 in loans from Goldman Sachs and Bank of America.

Contact Santa Clara Plays Fair to find a place to sign the petition or to volunteer to help.

Their website is: www.santaclaraplaysfair.org

49ers' Stadium Subsidy Ticker: We've Passed the 'Century' Mark!

Dear Santa Clarans,

We've now passed the 'century' mark:  Our elected City Council has met in secret with the San Francisco 49ers over ONE HUNDRED TIMES since May 1, 2007.  The very reason that you have only 96 hours to review the 421-page draft of the DDA before this Tuesday evening is a direct result of those Closed Sessions.

Background:  In late April of 2007, the San Francisco 49ers demanded that our City Council sign a "Confidentiality Agreement."  Without a peep, and with minimal public inputs:  Our elected leaders took virtually all dealings involving the stadium subsidy, the stadium site and parcels into Closed Session, out of the view of Santa Clara residents. The Closed Sessions are indicated - with no details - in the "Action Summaries" here.

Also, Santa Clara Agencies have paid cash to consultants on everything from the Feasibility Study to the Term Sheet - and now for the Disposition and Development Agreement, or DDA. A summary of those payments and to whom they have been made is here.

Finally, Santa Clara Agencies will be borrowing what they do not have in order to finance not only the make-ready work and the stadium's construction costs, but very possibly the costs of operating the stadium for the 49ers, too.  Those dollar amounts will be reported here periodically.

As of today:

101: The number of secret Closed Sessions that our City Council or Agencies have held with the San Francisco 49ers or with JMA Ventures, LLC, concerning the stadium site and parcels since May 1st, 2007.

As of December 6, 2011:

$3,650,000: The total of Santa Clara Agency cash paid to 49ers consultants since April 3rd, 2007.

$6,000,000:  The total that the Santa Clara Stadium Authority does not have for the stadium's "make-ready" work - which they must now borrow from the 49ers themselves and pay back with interest.

Best regards,

Bill Bailey, Treasurer,
Santa Clara Plays Fair.org

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The rules are rather straightforward.  Our count of secret Council and Agency Closed Sessions above is in fact quite conservative and it's more than fair to the 49ers' Stadium Boosters seated on our City Council:

• Only meetings actually held between the city and the 49ers or with JMA Ventures, LLC, for the purpose of discussing the "five parcels" are counted here.
• Secret Council and Agency meetings called for the same time of day and held one right after the other are counted as only one Closed Session.
• The "Sweetheart Hotel" negotiations with Joe Montana, Eddie DeBartolo, Jr., and Karl Wittek are not counted.
• Scheduled Closed Sessions "Not Held" - and, of course, city employee CBU negotiating sessions - are not counted.

We're very serious about the secret Closed Sessions - and we're happy to clear the air about how we've been accurately tallying them.

If we chose to include "The Sweetheart Hotel" and to singulate the secret Council and secret Agency meetings, we would simply be stating truthfully how much worse things actually are.     --- Bill Bailey     -=0=-

49ers' Stadium Subsidy Ticker: 99 Secret Meetings - and the $6 MILLION we DON'T have.

Dear Santa Clarans,

In late April of 2007, the San Francisco 49ers demanded that our City Council sign a "Confidentiality Agreement" - and that our elected leaders take virtually all dealings involving the stadium site and parcels into Closed Session, out of the view of Santa Clara residents. The Closed Sessions are indicated - with no details - in the "Action Summaries" here.

Also, Santa Clara Agencies have paid cash to consultants on everything from the Feasibility Study to the Term Sheet - and now for the Disposition and Development Agreement, or DDA. A summary of those payments and to whom they have been made is here.

Finally, Santa Clara Agencies will be borrowing what they do not have in order to finance not only the make-ready work and the stadium's construction costs, but very possibly the costs of operating the stadium for the 49ers, too.  Those dollar amounts will be reported here periodically.

As of this date:

99: The number of secret Closed Sessions that our City Council or Agencies have held with the San Francisco 49ers or with JMA Ventures, LLC, concerning the stadium site and parcels since May 1st, 2007. 

$3,200,000: The total of Santa Clara Agency cash paid to 49ers consultants since April 3rd, 2007.

$6,000,000:  The total that the Santa Clara Stadium Authority does not have for the stadium's "make-ready" work - which they must now borrow from the 49ers themselves and pay back with interest.

The count of Closed Sessions above is in fact quite conservative and it's more than fair to the 49ers' Stadium Boosters on our City Council:

• Only meetings actually held between the city and the 49ers or with JMA Ventures, LLC, for the purpose of discussing the "five parcels" are counted here.
• Secret Council and Agency meetings held one right after the other are counted as only one Closed Session.
• The "Sweetheart Hotel" negotiations with Montana/DeBartolo are not counted.
• Scheduled Closed Sessions "Not Held" - and, of course, city employee CBU negotiating sessions - are not counted.

We're very serious about the secret Closed Sessions - and we're happy to clear the air about how we've been accurately tallying them.


Best regards,

Bill Bailey, Treasurer,
Santa Clara Plays Fair.org

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Why we keep count.

A Stadium Fact: There is NO cap on the 49ers' Stadium Subsidies

Dear Santa Clarans,


There have been several claims in the media these last few weeks that Santa Clara's subsidy of the San Francisco 49ers is somehow "capped" at $42 million.  Unfortunately, this claim is completely false.


Pull out a Sample Ballot or other any other materials you wish covering Measure Jed from last June - and note that the total debt down to the Santa Clara Stadium Authority is not limited in any way.   The oversimplification being used by the 49ers' Stadium Boosters (this time) is that the Redevelopment Agency is only down for $42 million, and 'gosh, that's all.'


It's not.


Remember that the 49ers demanded our votes on Measure Jed by "estimating" that they'd be covering $493 million of a $937 million stadium.  On June 7th, however, City Staff informed us that the team only wants to pay "15% to 25%" of the costs of a $987 million stadium.


This is the way the game is played:  Euchre voters into signing a blank check, with meaningless (or broken) promises that debt is capped (or that the General Fund won't be touched, even though the Stadium Subsidy does cost it a bundle.).  About a year later, trumpet the passage of the bill, Measure Jed, then tell city residents that the public debt down to another city Agency is no longer the $330,000,000 claimed a year ago, but in fact may nearly double.


Imagine a situation where a destitute brother-in-law swears he only needs to put $330 on one of your credit cards - then imagine the uproar when you get the bill from the bank at the end of the month, and when you find that he charged $626 to that card.


The same game is being played here in Santa Clara - the debt that the San Francisco 49ers won't cover is going to be shoved onto the Stadium Authority - and there's apparently very little that the five "49ers' Stadium Boosters" on our City Council are willing to do to stop it.


The 49ers also made a promise that they'd be covering all construction cost overruns.  But who can tell what's an "overrun" if it's suddenly deemed not to be a 49ers Development Cost?  When that happens, it's a virtual certainty that the Santa Clara Stadium Authority will be stuck with it.


In essence:  Stadium Boosters continue to claim that the Stadium Authority is going to magically pay for all of this with just naming rights and Personal Seat License collections - and that it will then have enough dough to run a stadium for the 49ers for about $30,000,000 every year.


That claim sounds sillier all the time.






Thanks for all of your support,


William F. "Bill" Bailey, Treasurer,

SantaClaraPlaysFair.org

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Stadium Facts: Measure Jed does NOT Guarantee a Second Team

Dear Santa Clarans,

Stadium Boosters, even on our City Council, do sometimes manage to stretch the truth to the breaking point.  A prime example is the issue of any second team at a subsidized NFL stadium in Santa Clara, as this quote by Councilwoman Lisa Gillmor in today's paper shows:

" Santa Clara City Councilwoman Lisa Gillmor, however, was much more eager about having Oakland's Black Hole partner up in the South Bay.

" ' I would like to think that this improves the odds of the Raiders making a change to Santa Clara," Gillmor said. "Our citizens voted to have a second team...' "

Well, not exactly.  Here's what the Term Sheet appended to Measure Jed actually stated in black and white:

"49ers Stadium Company [and NO Santa Clara Agency] will have the right to enter into a sublease with a second NFL team (“Second Team”), on terms and conditions consistent with and subject to the Stadium Lease..."   (Section 16.1)

...and also:

"Although the terms of any sublease to a Second Team are not subject to approval of the Stadium Authority,..."   (Section 16.3)

Now, any Stadium Booster is welcome to misrepresent who holds the power of the second team lease.  However, any Santa Claran can read the Term Sheet itself, and know the truth.

The real truth is that we did not vote for a second team.  Instead, we gave Jed York the exclusive right to decide for us.

Thanks for all of your support,

Bill Bailey, Treasurer,

Santa Clara Plays Fair.org

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49ers' Stadium Subsidies: Pure Lucre for the NFL in TV Royalties

Santa Clarans,


One of the biggest delusions engaged in by the 49ers' Stadium Boosters is about the money.

The problem is, they won't admit to you that the money goes into the 49ers' very own cash box, and not into the accounts of our city's agencies.

The Real Stadium Facts:  The Ground Lease payable to our city's General Fund is a pathetic $180,000 the first year.  The rent payable to our Santa Clara Stadium Authority at this writing is a paltry $5 million against what will be a Stadium Authority operating tab of at least $20 million and possibly $30 million - every year. 

Remember:  NO operating overruns will ever be reimbursed by the San Francisco 49ers. 

So:  Where is all the money really going?

The bulk of the money to be made in fielding an NFL team - and not in a losing stadium operation - are what are known as NFL Revenues.  The Term Sheet attached to Measure Jed from last June spells this out, and it draws a sharp, black line between those Revenues and the pittance that will go to us or to our Agencies.

A big part of those NFL Revenues, untouchable by us, are television royalties.  To stay abreast of the dollar amounts, one can use a search engine to yield the usual pile of information - but in general, you may count on $4B to $6B per year, divided equally among the NFL owners.

Conservatively, that's over $100,000,000 to Jed York every year - for the broadcast rights alone.  Consider the many other streams of NFL Revenue flowing out of a stadium - like the luxury box dough - and you have a lot of money that Santa Clara Agencies and Santa Clarans are simply not getting.

The 49ers and the NFL are extremely secretive about this.  They really don't want you looking too hard at what they'll be scooping out of a stadium here.

However, just a little online searching will give you a good idea of why NFL teams make money - and why NFL stadiums don't. 


All the best,
Bill Bailey, Treasurer,
SantaClaraPlaysFair.org


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ESPN - alone - Pays $63 million to each NFL team ($2B/32)http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2011/01/20110117/Media/Sports-Media.aspx: 

Early, from 2007:

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2007/09/Issue-238/NFL-Season-Preview/NFL-Media-Rights-Deals-For-07-Season.aspx

AdWeek took down their coverage of the NFL's TV money - but they published data from Barclays Capital Estimates showing that the NFL collected $4.04 BILLION from five networks in the 2010-2011 NFL season alone.