Santa Clara will get millions of dollars back for Super Bowl costs, thanks to an agreement between the city, a sports nonprofit and the San Francisco 49ers.
The Santa Clara Stadium Authority Board — comprised of the City Council — voted 5-2 Tuesday to approve the final 2026 Super Bowl agreement, which includes a roughly $6.4 million reimbursement from the Bay Area Host Committee for costs ranging from law enforcement security services to safety equipment. The host committee will also reimburse about $650,000 for Santa Clara Convention Center rent, and the San Francisco 49ers stadium company will reimburse about $26,000 in older adult and youth ticket sales. The biggest city costs for the Super Bowl, which will take the field at Levi’s Stadium Feb. 8, include roughly $2.7 million for event staffing, $1.4 million for vendors and $572,636 for police planning and preparation.
The agreement — between the city, its stadium authority, the Bay Area Host Committee and San Francisco 49ers stadium and management companies — states the host committee will reimburse half the money for event expenses in advance by Dec. 25 and pay the remainder after the game. If it can’t, the San Francisco 49ers stadium company will pay it or accrue interest until it can.
Mayor Lisa Gillmor and Vice Mayor Kelly Cox voted no, citing concern about receiving the full reimbursement. Gillmor said the agreement’s stipulation for the host committee to approve each reimbursement is worrisome. She wanted to see more proof the stadium company could financially backstop the committee, but Jihad Beauchman, executive vice president of the 49ers and general counsel, said that isn’t a needed part of the agreement. The agreement needs to be finalized by the host committee.
“I think the Super Bowl’s a great opportunity, but it should never come at the expense or the risk of the Santa Clara taxpayers,” Gillmor said at the meeting. “By requiring a letter of credit or some kind of guarantee, we ensure that every dollar we spend on public safety and city services is reimbursed. This, for me, is about protecting our residents, our taxpayers, our city finances and most of all, our stadium authority.”
District 4 Councilmember Kevin Park supports the agreement and said the city needs to think about the event beyond reimbursements.
“We need to look at what the costs and what the reimbursements could and should be, but if we’re gonna look at events as money-making opportunities, we can’t just look at breaking even,” he said at the meeting. “We’ve gotta look at… how we create mega events that benefit the city.”
The Super Bowl agreement is based on lease terms the city agreed to after voters approved the construction of Levi’s Stadium in 2010. City staff said it provides more safeguards for the city than the agreement for the 2016 Super Bowl, which also took place at Levi’s Stadium. The future reimbursements will add to money the host committee is already paying the city for Super Bowl preparation costs.
This is the second agreement the city approved with the host committee this year, after greenlighting the plan for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in February.
Bay Area Host Committee President and CEO Zaileen Janmohamed said the FIFA and Super Bowl agreements solidify the nonprofit’s dedication to putting on great events.
“The Bay Area Host Committee is once again committed to ensuring the city of Santa Clara has no risk and significant reward for the Super Bowl and World Cup,” she told San José Spotlight. “We look forward to hosting two fantastic events next year that will help Santa Clara and the Bay Area shine on a global stage.”
The Super Bowl agreement comes on the heels of Santa Clara’s contentious relationship with the 49ers and $1.3 billion Levi’s Stadium. The city settled a lawsuit with the 49ers last year after claiming it wasn’t paying enough public safety costs, which resulted in $20 million for Santa Clara over two years. The city has also been the focus of multiple grand jury reports on the 49er’s influence on local government.
Beauchman said the agreement is a great deal for the city and ensures repayment. He said it’s important to focus on the benefits the Super Bowl will bring to Santa Clara.
“This final vote confirms that Santa Clara will be able to host two of the world’s largest events in 2026, with no costs from the city’s general fund,” he told San José Spotlight. “We look forward to working with the Bay Area Host Committee and Santa Clara to put on these historic events, which will generate an estimated $1 billion for the Bay Area economy next year.”
Contact Annalise Freimarck at [email protected] or follow @annalise_ellen on X.
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