Stadium Authority reports $2.4M public-safety costs in quarter; non-NFL events net $6.1M
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Summary
The Santa Clara Stadium Authority reported $2.4 million in public-safety costs for the reporting quarter (roughly $612,000 per NFL game average), revenue from non-NFL events that produced $6.1 million net, and $3.4 million in SBL proceeds; council noted methodology changes and voted to note and file the report.
The Santa Clara Stadium Authority presented its quarterly financial status report (quarter ending Sept. 30, 2025) on Tuesday, reporting public-safety costs, ticket-surcharge revenues and continued progress on debt reduction.
Key figures in the presentation included $2.4 million of public-safety costs in the reporting period, an average of roughly $612,000 per NFL event. Authority and city staff said the increase compared with the prior year was due to a combination of factors: higher salary and benefit costs from negotiated MOUs, event-specific threat-assessments that increased staffing for certain events, and a methodology change that amortized some general safety costs earlier in the fiscal year rather than spreading them at year-end.
Non-NFL ticketed and non-ticketed events contributed to stronger-than-budgeted non-NFL net revenue (about $6.1 million net through the second quarter), and stadium-builder-license (SBL) proceeds totaled about $3.4 million. The authority also reported $14.2 million in debt-service payments and a principal outstanding stadium-related debt balance on the order of $184 million. Staff said excess revenues and the additional ticket surcharge set by the 2024 settlement are expected to reduce the outstanding public-safety cost balance and pay down legacy obligations by FY 2026-27 under current projections.
Treasurer and Board Member Jane Kenley asked staff to walk through the tables from the report, including the split between the base ticket surcharge (half to discretionary fund / half to operations) and the additional surcharge dedicated to public-safety reserves. Staff explained that the additional surcharge (non-NFL events) is intended to cover the gap between the contractual threshold that the 49ers pay and the actual per-event public-safety cost.
Council discussed SBL remarketing, outstanding public-safety balances, and the potential general-fund impact of excess revenues; the staff presentation closed with a recommendation to note and file the report. The board approved the recommendation and the motion to note and file carried 6-0.
What happens next: staff will proceed with the budget amendments described in the report and return quarter-four true-up figures in a later report.