49ers sue Santa Clara over parking dispute
A long drawn out battle between the San Francisco 49ers and Santa Clara over event parking space has finallymade its way to court.
OnWednesday, the 49ers SC Stadium Company filed a lawsuit against the city claiming it had overpaid by more than $1 million for parking space at a cityowned golf course near Levi’s Stadium over several years.
Both parties declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation.
In 2014, the stadium company and city agreed the stadium could use the golf course to park cars and settled on a formula for figuring out how much the company would pay, including an annual minimum fee of $250,000. Un- der the agreement, the city could bill for lost income if it showed that it lost more money than expected because the stadium company was using the space.
From 2014 to 2016, the suit says, the stadiumcompany paid $1,053,367 over and above the minimum use fee.
Then in mid-2016, the city and stadium moved to a month-to-month agreement and in August 2016, the city told the stadium company it owed more than $700,000, including more than $630,000 in lost income for use of the space from March to June
of that year.
That raised some red flags at the stadium company, which says it only used the parking space for seven days during that 142day timeframe. According to the lawsuit, the stadium company asked the city to show where the income had been lost and the city declined. But the city has pushed back at the idea that it over-billed the stadium company, pointing to a cityrequested audit conducted in 2017 that suggested the company owed the city the money.
The charge prompted the stadium company to take a closer look at the previous bills, and ultimately, the company alleges in the suit, it decided it also overpaid on the initial bills.
Now, the stadium company wants that $1 million back, with interest.
It’s not the first spat between the team and city. The two have also sparred over who should pay for the police and firefighters who work stadiumevents. Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor initially supported the idea of bringing the stadium to the city but has since voiced concerns that city residents are subsidizing the stadium with their tax dollars.
The parking agreement between the stadium company and the city for use of the golf course was terminated in July 2016.