Santa Clara mayoral candidate claims Levi’s Stadium financials fall short

Former Santa Clara Councilmember Kathy Watanabe is calling for an independent analysis of the economic benefit Levi’s Stadium provides to the city, saying residents deserve a clearer accounting of the stadium’s costs, revenues and contributions to city coffers.

Watanabe, a mayoral candidate in the upcoming Nov. 3 election, held a news conference Thursday in front of Levi’s Stadium. She said the city should examine whether local businesses are benefiting from major events at the publicly owned stadium, including the Super Bowl and FIFA World Cup. She wants more transparency on the money generated by Levi’s Stadium and how Santa Clara’s revenue is calculated.

“We want to make sure that whatever is supposed to be coming to the city general fund is coming to the city general fund, and we also want to make sure going forward that our small businesses are receiving the benefit of these events as well,” Watanabe told San José Spotlight.

Watanabe has not identified a specific amount she thinks Santa Clara is owed, because reports are not yet available. Edward Escobar, founder of the Coalition for Community Engagement, which helped organize Watanabe’s news conference, also couldn’t identify the amount.

“I can’t speak to specifics on that. But I could just say it’s not enough,” Escobar told San José Spotlight.

The Bay Area Host Committee — an umbrella organization that oversees major sporting events in the region — disputed the suggestion that Santa Clara has not benefited financially.

“As the public record shows, (the host committee) has paid 95% of the city’s invoices and has been waiting for weeks for additional information from the city to close out the remaining amount,” Bay Area Host Committee spokesperson Mitch Germann told San José Spotlight.

Germann said Super Bowl 60 and the World Cup matches held at Levi’s Stadium produced economic and community benefits for Santa Clara, including increased hotel occupancy, short-term rental demand, national and international exposure and investments in local schools.

Boom or bust for businesses

Several businesses near Levi’s Stadium said this year’s major sports events brought a significant boost.

Ben Sterling, co-owner of Barebottle Brewing Company’s Santa Clara taproom, said Super Bowl Sunday was the brewery’s best Sunday on record, with sales up 90% from the previous year.

Sterling said the World Cup also produced significant gains for the taproom. Sales were up 270% year over year during the Australia-Paraguay match on June 25 and 200% during the U.S.-Bosnia match on July 2, he said.

“They drove weekday or slower day business which was super helpful,” Sterling told San José Spotlight.

Barebottle increased staffing and inventory to accommodate the events, but Sterling said the additional costs were more than offset by increased sales.

“It was wonderful for our business,” Sterling said. “We would like there to be more events at Levi’s. They drive so much of the local business near us and we’re super grateful to be nearby and have a connection to the organization.”

Alex Adler, co-owner of Puesto in Santa Clara, also said events at Levi’s bring more business to his restaurant. He said business increases by about 50% during concerts, particularly on weekends and nighttime events.

“We did better during FIFA because of the late night,” Adler told San José Spotlight. “It was a really strong year, our strongest year actually.”

Not every business has had the same experience.

Howard Gibbons, a longtime hot dog vendor near the Great America VTA station, said restrictions surrounding the major events affected his business. Gibbons said the Bay Area Host Committee provided several hundred dollars to help cover some losses associated with the Super Bowl, but he received no assistance during the World Cup.

“FIFA, that was a total lockout shutout. So that was a total loss,” Gibbons told San José Spotlight.

The city has a public dashboard tracking costs and reimbursements related to the Super Bowl and World Cup. As of Sept. 8, the dashboard showed costs incurred by the city and Stadium Authority, along with amounts billed to and reimbursed by host committee.

The 49ers have separately said Levi’s Stadium has generated $51.6 million in lifetime revenue for Santa Clara’s general fund through rent, facility fees and tax receipts. The team also points to an October 2023 economic-impact analysis commissioned by the 49ers, which estimated the stadium generated about $2 billion in total economic impact in Santa Clara County from its opening in 2014 through July 2023.

The push for greater economic scrutiny comes nearly a decade after the 2016 Super Bowl, when the region drew less economic activity than some boosters had expected. One analysis found that while the Bay Area as a whole drew $240 million from Super Bowl 50, San Jose only secured 12% of the economic activity and Santa Clara saw 7%, while San Francisco received 57%.

“Levi’s Stadium has had the two most successful years in its history since Kathy Watanabe left office, and Santa Clara reaped the benefits,” Ellie Caple, vice president of corporate communications and public affairs for the San Francisco 49ers, told San Josè Spotlight. “Stadium finances are a matter of public record and show that Levi’s Stadium delivered more than $30 million directly to the city’s general fund over the last two years, and millions more over its life than originally projected. Ms. Watanabe is either misinformed or intentionally misleading the public.”

Contact Maryanne Casas-Perez at [email protected] or @CasasPerezRed on X.