You Can’t Always Get What You Want: Rolling Stones were Granted Curfew Extension

There will be no fine for Levi’s Stadium’s management company (ManCo) even though the Rolling Stones’ Sunday “No Filter” concert at Santa Clara’s Levi’s Stadium went until 11 p.m.

The standing curfew for concerts at the stadium is 10 p.m. on weeknights and 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Breaking the curfew leads to a small $1,000 fine for ManCo, however, according to Santa Clara’s Director of Communications Lenka Wright, the Rolling Stones curfew extension to 11 p.m. was granted by Santa Clara City Manager and Stadium Authority’s Executive Director Deanna Santana.

“Working collaboratively with the 49ers, the Santa Clara Stadium Authority’s executive director authorized extending the curfew by one hour for Sunday night’s Rolling Stones concert at Levi’s Stadium,” said Wright in an email to The Weekly on Aug. 20.

However, many were not aware that Santana had granted the curfew extension. Many news outlets and even a Santa Clara City Council Member and Stadium Authority Member said that the curfew extension was not granted.

On the social media platform NextDoor, City Council Member and Stadium Authority Member Kathy Watanabe — whose district includes Levi’s Stadium — said that the City did not agree to the 11 p.m. extension.

“One thing reported that bothered me was a statement that the City and Stadium management agreed to the 11 pm cutoff. That isn’t true,” said Watanabe in her Aug. 19 post that has since been deleted. “The Council would have had to have agreed to extension before we went on break July 17 and we did not. There will be followup on where that statement came from.”

The fact is, the Stadium Authority’s Executive Director and City Manager may grant a curfew extension. According to Resolution 10-7784, approved by the Santa Clara City Council on Nov. 9, 2010,  “Night outdoor non-NFL events shall be scheduled to end not later than 10:00 PM Sunday through Thursday and 11:00 PM Friday and Saturday, unless otherwise approved by the City Manager or their designee.” This is also stated on the City’s FAQ page for Levi’s Stadium.

In the past, the City Manager passed the curfew decision to the Stadium Authority. As was the case almost two years ago when U2 was denied a curfew extension for their weekday concert and then played past 10 p.m. At a following Stadium Authority meeting, it was City Attorney Brian Doyle who reminded the Authority Members that the City Manager can grant a curfew extension.

Adding to the curfew confusion, the 11 p.m. extension was not communicated to the community. Though, it is unclear exactly when the curfew extension was decided. On Thursday, Aug. 15, the Santa Clara Police Department said in their traffic advisory that the Rolling Stones concert was estimated to conclude at 10 p.m. According to Captain Wahid Kazem, the police department was fully prepared for the later end time.

“The police department was aware and prepared operationally for an 11 p.m. end time,” said Kazem, adding, “We were given ample notice of the later end time in order to prepare operationally.”

 

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to reflect additional information and to improve clarity.