Santa Clara OKs Plan To Use Golf Club Fairways For Levi's Stadium Parking
SANTA CLARA (KCBS) – Santa Clara city officials have approved a plan that would bring a big boost to the number of parking spots available next season at Levi's Stadium, set to be the new home of the San Francisco 49ers.
On Tuesday night, the Santa Clara City Council unanimously approved making the Santa Clara Golf and Tennis Club available to the Niners on game days. The special permit to use the fairways of the golf course will provide up to 5,000 more spots.
"It gives us the flexibility that we're going to want in providing a great experience at Levi's Stadium," said Jim Mercurio, vice president of stadium operations for the 49ers.
As part of the agreement, the team will pay for improvements to the golf course, such as building driveways to the course, widening golf cart paths and restoring fairways.
Santa Clara Mayor Jamie Matthews said the deal will give the city $250,000 per season for two years.
"Having 100 percent of the spaces locked up today helps us continue to market it and get all those premier events, that we've been able to be very successful – the Super Bowl, Wrestlemania," he said.
The team needed to secure 21,000 parking spaces within walking distance for sold-out events at the stadium. Team officials said they could now have more than 30,000 spaces available for the 2014 season opener.
In November, the city and team announced that they would not be able to host Monday or Thursday night games during the 49ers first season at Levi's Stadium because of concerns about parking and traffic congestion in the area.
But with the added spaces, the team said they are hoping to be able to host weeknight games at Levi's Stadium sooner than expected.