Santa Clara To See $7M in Levi’s Stadium Profits — Finally

Santa Clara's general fund will gain $7 million from non-NFL events at Levi's Stadium, known as performance rent, which had been held in a legal contingency fund for nearly two years. This release of funds follows the final settlement of a lawsuit with the 49ers.

Santa Clara PIO Janine De la Vega explained, "According to the settlement terms, the Santa Clara Stadium Authority will allocate the budgeted funds from the legal contingency reserve to cover performance rents due for fiscal years 2022/23 through 2024/25. The remaining funds will be used for buffet costs and excess public safety cost credits for fiscal year 2024/25 owed to StadCo.”

The city is currently awaiting approval from the stadium construction lender for the ground and stadium lease amendments included in the settlement before finalizing the performance rent payments to the city, De la Vega noted.

This settlement should counter claims by Mayor Lisa Gillmor and her supporters that the city's general fund has not benefited from Levi's Stadium, which had been attributed to the money being held in the legal contingency account rather than the performance rent account. Gillmor has been opposed to settling the litigation with the 49ers, despite the annual $1 million cost of the litigation.

Since Levi's Stadium opened in 2014, its performance rent has contributed $14 million to Santa Clara’s general fund. City Manager Jovan Grogan projects that the settlement will add another $20 million to the general fund over the next two years.

A 2023 study commissioned by the San Francisco 49ers and published by Emeryville-based Sports Economics last October revealed that Levi’s Stadium has generated $35.6 million in incremental revenue for Santa Clara's general fund over the past decade, including performance rent, ticket and parking fees, and additional sales tax.