49ers Secure $850 Million In Loans For Santa Clara Football Stadium

The new stadium is scheduled to cost $1.02 billion, although that figure is subject to potential cost overruns. The stadium was initially budgeted at $987 million but inflation and some new estimations bumped it up $35 million. The 49ers will be responsible for any cost overruns. The breakdown of the stadium financing is as follows:

$450 million: Bank loan to the city’s stadium authority
$400 million: Bank loan to the 49ers, who pass the loan on to the city’s stadium authority
$150 million: 49ers’ payments, mostly from luxury suite sales (much of which has already been sold)
$20 million: City’s stadium authority payments, from existing stadium revenues

While the city of Santa Clara is taking out a significant loan, the 49ers will end up paying for much of the debt. The 49ers will use ticket sales (including personal seat licenses), naming rights and other sales to help cover the deal. Additionally, they will pay an annual rent of $30 million to Santa Clara, the Santa Clara Redevelopment Agency will chip in $40 million and a local hotel tax is expected to contribute $35 million. Finally, the NFL is expected to provide upwards of $150 million through the refurbished G-3 program in the new CBA.

The conservative time table has construction starting in early 2013 and the stadium opening in 2015. The 49ers and Santa Clara are optimistic they can get shovels in the ground earlier than that and have an accelerated timetable of shovels in the ground in mid-2012 with the stadium opening in 2014. Santa Clara will begin make-ready work in the area in January 2012, which will include redirecting utilities and clearing up the Great America amusement parking lot that will be part of the new stadium. After that, the next big date will be when shovels hit the ground for the stadium itself.