49ers Face Uphill Climb in Santa Clara

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (KCBS)  -- A new poll indicates a majority of Santa Clara residents are opposed to using public money to pay for part of the cost of building a new 49ers stadium.

Just 40 percent of those responding to a Survey USA poll conducted for CBS-5 said they support using local taxpayer dollars for the $937 million dollar stadium.

“Subsidizing an NFL stadium with public funds is simply a bad move and it’s an even worse move in a bad economy,” said Bill Bailey, treasurer of the anti-stadium group Santa Clara Plays Fair.

  KCBS' Chris Filippi reports

Bailey sees taking money from the city’s general fund to pay for the stadium as a formula for deficits for at least five years.

Fifty-four percent of the 500 Santa Clara residents recently contacted by Survey USA said they oppose the city’s plan. The city council wants to draw funds from redevelopment money, bond sales, a hotel room tax, and even the city’s utility to defray building costs.

The stadium will bring almost 5,000 jobs to the city, but critics note more than half of those will be game day jobs in a stadium that will see at most a dozen games a year.

Stadium supporters such as Lisa Gilmour of Santa Clarans for Economic Progress questioned the wording of the survey.

She said the survey didn’t ask, “what do you feel about a stadium being built without general fund money being used, without taxes being raised, without utility rates increasing.”

She contends the survey’s wording biased the results, and disagreed with Bailey’s contention that general fund money would go towards the project.

Gilmour said the city could generate its $114 million share without new taxes and without raising utility rates.

The 49ers will cover the bulk of both operating and construction costs, and have pledged to cover any cost overruns.

Voters will likely decide on June 8 whether the city will contribute any money to the project.

(jro)