Getting to host a Super Bowl isn’t all about whether you’ve built a new enough stadium or are in a place where it’s sunny in February. No, the key to a successful Super Bowl bid is also about bribes, or as they’re called in NFL lingo, “financial demands.” The Santa Clara city council voted unanimously last night to accede to the NFL’s requirements by rebating a whole slew of fees and taxes, which were nicely summarized by newballpark.org:
- 10% NFL Ticket Surcharge – At a conservative set price of $500 per SB L ticket, the $50 surcharge would yield $3.75 million with an expanded capacity of 75,000.
- $0.35 Ticket fee – Meant to fund some senior and youth programs. A cap of $250,000 per year is imposed on this revenue source. If the 49ers play at least one home game, it’s likely that the 49ers would hit the cap, rendering additional collection of this fee moot.
- Hotel tax – A Mello Roos district was created to provide some stadium funding, backed by a hike in the transit occupancy tax from 9.5% to 11.5% in the stadium’s immediate area. The NFL asked for its share (350 rooms for an unspecified number of days) to be waived. Assuming that the NFL needs 350 rooms for the full two weeks, the City would forego some $70,000+ in hotel taxes. The City notes that it expects to make up this loss via taxes collected on additional room bookings.
- Off Site Parking fee – The City has imposed a $4.54 fee per space for event parking. That too will be waived. This appears to be for all Super Bowl activities, not just the game itself. The City notes that the fee is meant to offset the cost of traffic management.
Total cost of all this to Santa Clara taxpayers: Nobody bothered to ask! As newballpark.org continues, “Strangely, no estimates of this impact were disclosed, even as the City touts $300 million in additional economic activity for the region.” (Much of which would be taking place in the San Francisco part of the region, since S.F. would be the official “host city” for Super Bowl week events, even as Santa Clara would be the actual city hosting the game.)
We’ve been through before with Indianapolis, of course, so none of it should be any surprise. But it’s a reminder of how cities can host a major event like the Super Bowl and still come out of it with an operating loss. Good thing the Super Bowl brings in all sorts of ancillary economic benefits — oh wait.
As stated before, you can’t spell SUCKER without S & C – Santa Clara.
I mean, come on. The city is only getting this windfall because there’s a Super Bowl. It strikes me as reasonable to ask that the reason for the city’s windfall doesn’t have to pay.
“You’re only getting to bring me a check because I’m eating in your restaurant. It’s only reasonable to ask that I don’t have to pay it.”
Taxes are for little people, right?
If you build us a shiny new stadium, we can bring you a super bowl and tons of money. If you enact various taxes to pay for said stadium, well, it would be really nice if you didn’t enforce those taxes for the Super Bowl we tempted you with… because the NFL/scarcity already makes it expensive enough ?
Too bad they don’t provide discounted tickets for the local residents… or maybe Santa Clara residents get a “discount” of not paying for airfare and hotels.
So if SF is the official host city, why is the NFL booking hotels rooms in SC? So from the article above SC is waving all its taxes but the events will be held in SF where they stil have to pay taxes.
If not then the events (nfl experiance, hotel parties, media evetns etc..) will be held in SC so you will have an influx of people.
I am confused…
Thank you for making my point, Neil. Many celebs (NFL) get comped in restaurants (Super Bowl host cities) because they bring outside business in.
In new orleans hotels were all booked by the NFL and Corporations, very few fans actually got hotels with in New Orleans.
Fans after spending $3k on SB tickets had to stay at least 45min to an hour outside of New Orleans.
I was on travel for work in Bethesda Maryland, local news had Ravens fans invading cities in Mississippi and Alabama.
So unless you are Big People (Associated with the NFL, Celebrities, or Corp Execs) you going to pay taxes and get no breaks…
At least the bay area has a lot of cities with hotels that people dont need to go that far to find a room.
You guys are too mean. The NFL is a registered non-profit afterall, with Form 990s and everything. The hotel rooms the league books (probably used by lighting technicians, refs, Beyonce, Goodell, players?) get a tax holiday because they’re such a charitable organization.
Amen to ChefJoe pointing out the moral purity at the heart of the NFL.
They are a non-profit! Just like charities like the Red Cross and UnitedWay.
Surely that means that they bring goodness, sweetness, and light to all that they touch!
(On a related note, every single convo about how the NFL in particular, and Big Sports in general, manages to co-opt and figuratively rob cities and states blind the world over makes me despair that we’ll ever find a way to control these lampreys.)
Oh, and just for other local news:
Next door to Santa Clara is the city of San Jose, who is this week hosting the NCAA college basketball tournament. And, of course, they’re doing it at a loss, like just about every other city that’s doing it.
And again, we have world-class swindlers like the NCAA (another non-profit!) selling the sizzle to the suckers in San Jose, and flying home with the steak:
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/03/17/446433/ncaa-tournament-doesnt-boost-city-economy/
Ben: Except the Super Bowl doesn’t bring outside business in. Unless it’s that magical invisible business that only shows up in anecdotes and not on actual tax rolls.
BTW, I never foresaw the SC Council meeting the demands of the NFL. Well, I guess that’s never happened before…
Wow, what a windfail for Santa Clara!
(Read word four in the above sentence closely. You’re welcome.)
This is exactly the kind of thing that the fans in Sacramento love to ignore. They’ll say, “Yeah, but that one weekend will pay for 1/3 of the stadium!”
Oh, sure. It’s just that the people who are paying for that stadium won’t see any of that $300M. And even at that, the revenue claims will be exaggerated anyway.
The giveaway of public funds just keeps on rolling:
mercurynews.com/southbayfootball/ci_22834039/judge-schools-cant-yank-30-million-from-49ers
Read that article and then recall that the 49ers campaigned on the back of the school district – promising money from the stadium to the schools – which isn’t true.
Ah ha ha, middle aged white judges like pro-football too! What a surprise. Well, the 49er sjust need to donate some used weight equipment and have some players visit the schools and people will say what a great part of the community they are.
Many laugh at San Francisco, but now San Fran is who roars with laughter, for in the end it is not who is getting fucked up the ass.
We bought those politicians fair and square. Now that we’re busy wetting our beaks a little, you start complaining? Sheesh. NFL billionaires are different than you rubes. We play by our own rules. Get used to it. And keep the stadium cash flowing, capiche? Or we’ll move to Los Angeles, or Bumfuk Egypt, whichever builds a stadium first!
“Thank you for making my point, Neil. Many celebs (NFL) get comped in restaurants (Super Bowl host cities) because they bring outside business in.”
Except that your analogy is incorrect, Ben. The NFL isn’t the celeb demanding a free dinner here. They are demanding a free dinner and that all/most ‘economic activity generated by their presence’ be turned over to them.
Sure, Charles Barkley might get a free meal/drinks in a restaurant, but no restaurant owner is going to turn over CB’s meal and the tabs/revenues for all other customers that night just to have him appear. It defeats the purpose of the ‘appearance’ fee when it is impossible for the business owner to earn revenue associated with the appearance.
Sports franchises/leagues are a lot like a bad girlfriend. No matter how much you might love her and think the world revolves around her, eventually you are going to notice that she is out entertaining others (on your credit card) while you are home walking her dog or looking after her child from a previous relationship.
Eventually, you just have to say no.