Taylor Swift rocked Levi’s Stadium for two nights last weekend. Unless you just returned from Tibet, you already knew this. What you may not realize was the terrific economic bonanza Swift created for Santa Clara.
Hotels, restaurants and ancillary services were also packed as patrons and fans unloaded their cash in favor of fun and frolic.
When the counting is done, the revenue from these two nights at the stadium alone will likely bring the City of Santa Clara in excess of a million dollars. Add to that the share of tax revenue generated from local businesses, and you can count on a major dent in the City’s deficit.
But wait. How is it that Santa Clara, the most progressive City in the county, could have a deficit? It was just a few years ago Santa Clara enjoyed a $20 million dollar surplus.
Well, it was a combination of an overpaid, incompetent city manager and her cronies without care or concern for Santa Clara. Couple that with the election of Lisa Gillmor as Mayor, add to that her majority control of the council until 2021 that supported her spurious spending sprees and you have it.
However, it was not just her spending alone. Gillmor and her council majority voted in restrictions that served as a tourniquet on stadium revenue.
Do you recall the last time the Rolling Stones played Levi’s Stadium? They were also a sellout. One of their highlights was their closing pyrotechnic show. Gillmor’s city manager was directed to nix their fireworks show as a noise issue and fire hazard. Do you think the Rolling Stones would have any desire to return to Levi’s and Santa Clara under those restrictions?
You might note; the 49ers have shot off pyrotechnics at every game from the beginning and continue to do so. Both of Taylor Swift’s shows went past curfew and included pyrotechnics to close things out with no problems.
Thanks to the current council majority and their harmonious relationship with stadium managers and the 49ers, huge acts like Taylor Swift can perform and produce revenue for Santa Clara. Even though Swift went 38 minutes past “curfew” Friday night and again on Saturday, she would be welcomed back in a heartbeat.
Thanks to the Santa Clara City Council that has returned common sense to the City. They continue to work with Levi’s managers to provide amazing entertainment for our entire community.
Frankly, you can take that hypocritical Grand Jury report which criticizes this council majority for doing a great job working with the 49ers…and stuff it!
Miles,
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The reason for the deficit is due to the pandemic and how it created gigantic losses in hotel taxes and sales taxes.
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You are once again embarrassing yourself and your paper with yet another flimsy attempt to lie to your readers. We can see right through your cheap rhetoric and see the underlying partisan hackery and Forty Niners cheerleading.
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You should read your own paper because Carolyn Schuk got this right in her reporting.
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“As long as the hotel tax was steady, it papered over bad policy decisions. In fact, the cumulative $39 million in hotel tax lost since 2019-20 is roughly the amount of the rolling deficit since 2020: $42 million.”
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https://www.svvoice.com/santa-clara-budget-deficit-triggered-by-covid-fed-by-exploding-payroll/
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She goes on to write about higher payroll costs in Santa Clara comparing positions to positions with other cities. She highlights Deanna Santana’s pay and it is fair to criticize how high her pay and total compensation is but the difference between her total compensation and that of Jovan Grogan is a drop in the bucket of lost hotel tax revenue.
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You are right that the Swift concerts were good for the city. I hope the concerts make money and that we will see a return of profit from nonfootball events this year.
So our “Buchser hero” comes up with anther excuse. It was the hatred of the Gilmore coven that was the problem. Some sense of sanity has returned, but you’re not part of it.
Buchser Alum-hole,
Be careful there. Else, Miles H Barber shall once again accuse you of carrying water for Lisa Gillmor.
Okay Miles
You don’t have any idea how much money will end up the city’s general fund. Actually the number is much smaller than it should be, and much smaller than it will be in the future.
Tommy,
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Miles’ goal is not to be accurate in what he writes. He writes what he writes to spin positive public relations for the Forty Niners and allies of theirs on the city council.
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Everything he writes about the Forty Niners is as positive about them as is possible and this often requires him to omit certain relevant facts or to otherwise make interpretations and presentations that are obviously skewed in the Forty Niners’ favor.
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This is the case with virtually anything related to the Forty Niners published on this site. But with Miles it is especially extreme because many times he is literally cheerleading for the Forty Niners.
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It is normal for local newspapers to cover big local corporations favorably but the favoritism is usually less in your face than it is with Miles who seems content to be seen as the Forty Niners waterboy.
Buchser Alum-hole,
Long after Lisa Gillmor, Miles, and both of us have departed, Levi’s Stadium will likely still be standing. It shall then be up to our future City Council members to start carrying the water. Let’s hope they and their supporters do as good a job.