49ers say Coldplay will likely blow Levi’s Stadium curfew
Future concerts now at risk
SANTA CLARA » The San Francisco 49ers are warning Santa Clara officials that Coldplay will likely defy the city’s 10 p.m. weeknight curfew for concerts at Levi’s Stadium, arguing that abruptly stopping the October show could pose a “public safety threat” to concert-goers.
“I need to be clear that the stadium manager cannot unilaterally stop the show if the concert has not ended by 10 p.m.,” wrote Jim Mercurio, the team’s vice president and general manager of stadium operations, in an Aug. 29 letter. “Among other issues, an abrupt end to an unfinished show could, and likely would, potentially create unsafe crowd control dynamics; knowingly contributing to unsafe public order.”
The letter was addressed to Santa Clara’s interim City Manager Rajeev Batra. The NFL team is entrenched in a nasty fight with City Hall over its 10 p.m. weeknight curfew for concerts at Levi’s Stadium — the latest squabble in an already troubled relationship.
Mayor Lisa Gillmor did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
According to the letter, the Santa Clara Police Department would be expected to decide whether to stop the show, but Batra said that could cause an upheaval from the crowd.
“I don’t want to put our police department in a situation to go in and shut everything down at 10,” Batra said. “If you suddenly unplug it, it could create a very unpleasant public safety situation.”
The city owns Levi’s Stadium and has leased it to the Niners for 40 years. The team manages day-to- day operations and books non-NFL events, such as concerts, at the billion- dollar venue.
But Gillmor and her City Council allies last week refused to lift the curfew for Coldplay during a marathon council meeting. That means when the band comes to Santa Clara on Oct. 4, they’re expected to stop playing before 10 p.m. — and Niners’ officials said that’s unreasonable and unrealistic.
Coldplay has played until 11 p.m. on its other tour stops, Mercurio said in his letter. And because of the city’s refusal to allow curfew exceptions, Mercurio said the team’s management company will no longer book future weeknight concerts at Levi’s Stadium.
That could hit Santa Clara where it hurts most — its pocketbook.
Niners officials said the stadium’s only two weeknight concerts — Beyonce and U2 — netted $1.6 million for the city. Team president Al Guido said the curfew places Levi’s Sta- dium at a competitive disadvantage with venues such as AT&T Park and the Oakland Coliseum — and that no other major stadium in California has such early restrictions.
The curfew was put in place to appease neighbors living near Levi’s who complained about noise and traffic. Santa Clara Councilwoman Kathy Watanabe, who lives about a mile away from the stadium, said it’s a “quality of life” issue.
“It’s a weekday concert during the school year and we know how families were impacted during U2,” Watanabe said, adding that the team’s management company agreed to the curfew when it signed the lease. “The residents were here first before the stadium.”
Watanabe said she’s “not happy” that the letter essentially says the curfew will be violated. The punishment is a $750 fine.
The Niners last week asked city officials for four exceptions to the curfew per year in exchange for community benefits, such as donations to schools and libraries. The council majority decided to consult with stadium neighbors before making a decision.
The first meeting with neighbors is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Northside Branch Library, 695 Moreland Way.
Santa Clara elected leaders, meanwhile, also approved hiring a new Stadium Authority manager to oversee issues related to Levi’s. The top candidate is rumored to be Scott McKibben, CEO of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority, who worked with Santa Clara’s new city manager, Deanna Santana. The new Stadium Authority manager’s salary will be $300,000 a year.