Levi’s concert curfews could be eased
After years of denying curfew extensions for music acts like Coldplay and U2 at Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara will now consider letting concerts blow past the 10 p.m. weeknight curfew.
The curfew — which is 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays — has been a sticking point between the city and the San Francisco 49ers, who oversee the stadium, for years.
The 49ers have long alleged that the 10 p.m. weeknight stop time has cost the city millions in revenue, claiming that acts like Ed Sheeran have pulled out over the music ban. City Manager Deanna Santana, however, says the city has no evidence suggesting that they’ve lost out on money because of the curfew.
While the city manager has the power to extend the curfew under the original stadium agreement, the Santa Clara City Council in 2017 asked the former acting city manager to not grant any extensions — a policy that has remained in place until now.
Late Tuesday evening, the council voted 4-3 to allow Santana to approve weeknight curfew extensions until 11 p.m. for five non-NFL events a year —
pyrotechnics included. Any extensions after that will be considered by the council. Mayor Lisa Gillmor and council members Kathy Watanabe and Kevin Park cast the dissenting votes.
The curfew has largely been kept in place to curb the impact of noise on nearby neighborhoods. But several council members stated that the same neighborhoods have to endure the constant roar of airplanes taking off and landing overhead at the Mineta San Jose International Airport.
Councilmember Anthony Becker said that when he spoke with residents on the campaign trail, they rarely had noise related complaints about the stadium. Instead, he said they were concerned about traffic and
the potential for loitering, trash or other criminal activity that could occur after concerts.
“It’s a concern to have noise, but at the same time when you have nonstop noise of airports basically drowning out the sound of a concert, it makes no sense,” he said Tuesday.
But Watanabe, whose district includes the stadium, said she gets complaints from residents after every NFL game. And when Beyoncé blew past the curfew, she said residents were upset for days because people returning home from the Warriors game couldn’t get home.
“There are a lot of reasons why the decisions were made that were made and it wasn’t because people wanted a music ban or anything like that,” she said. “It’s because promises were made to the residents, to the constituents of my neighborhood, my district.”
Gillmor wanted to make it a condition of the new curfew rule that the 49ers couldn’t book acts that would lose money or be a financial burden on the city or taxpayers.
“They’re not good managers,” Gillmor said of the 49ers. “They’re not capable of booking money making events at the stadium as is evidenced by the fact that the events that they’re booking, especially the nonNFL sports events, are losing money dramatically.”
In 2018-19, non-NFL events lost $2.6 million, according to city documents.
In a statement, 49ers spokesperson Rahul Chandhok applauded the council’s decisions to allow curfew extensions.
“This decision will help draw world class entertainment to Santa Clara and will not only excite those in our community who love live music, but will also generate necessary revenue for the City of Santa Clara, local hotels, and small business,” he said. “It’s thoughtful policy and we hope to continue moving past the petty political disputes and dysfunction under Mayor Gillmor and Manager Santana.”