Milestones – New Life at Levi’s – Opinion

What could be better than business that is back in business?

Santa Clara’s energized City Council has approved a return to the partnership that Mayor Lisa Gillmor had shelved.

The current Council has resurrected and restored the 49er/Santa Clara partnership. It is exciting to know the lights will be on again at Levi’s Stadium with some classy evening performances that will attract hundreds of thousands of fans.

The City’s partnership with the San Francisco 49ers, which Mayor Gillmor had placed in cold storage, has been thawed by the new era Council majority.

Already booked is superstar Elton John who will be performing on Saturday, Oct. 8 and Sunday, Oct 9 as a part of his “Farewell Tour.”

What a great tribute to Santa Clara, to the 49ers and to the Bay Area.

The weeknight concert ban — the “curfew” — imposed by Mayor Gillmor and her former Council has been a costly embargo. Santa Clara’s budget has been a brutal bust.

When you consider this adversarial relationship for the past few years, and Gillmor’s gang running up annual deficits of tens of millions, you got to love the resurrection of life at Levi’s.

While the Council has approved four nights of weeknight performances a year, that must be reviewed.

Consider the $5 to $6 million dollars a year Santa Clara lost under Gillmor’s moratorium. At last look, the City was running a $20 million deficit or more. Just about the amount Santa Clara would have made if the stadium had been allowed high-profile performances only four nights a year.

Now, Santa Clara needs revenue. Making use of our billion-dollar stadium makes sense (and dollars). Special events create funds that Santa Clara needs for serving residents and paying the employees that deliver those services.

Our City workers need to be paid, not ignored. Residents expect and deserve services. This expectation extends to streets, sidewalks, streetlights, parks and events. City employees deserve raises and competitive pay. It is ridiculous to have a cash cow like Levi’s and not make use of it to benefit residents, City employees and City services.

Santa Clara has been sitting on a premium gold mine with the tunnel closed and locked. This is not what residents voted for.

This is not simply a decision for the “49er five.” This was voted for and approved by nearly 60% of Santa Clara voters.

For sure, fiscal sense is a big step back to “dollars and cents” sanity.