One reason why stadium financing is such a big part of the current CBA discussion: Government attitude towards helping out sports teams with stadiums has changed over the last decade.
California Governor Jerry Brown, for instance, is willing to do away with funding “redevelopment agencies” that would be necessary for a new 49ers stadium in Santa Clara. So what would the 49ers do then?
“Use the ones over at Berkeley and Stanford -- they are good stadiums,” Brown said via the San Francisco Chronicle. “Private enterprise should be able to survive on its own, as witnessed at Pac Bell [AT&T] Park.”
Brown said he was troubled by the fact that Oakland and Alameda County are spending $25 million a year on stadium in Oakland that owners now say is unusable. It’s a salient point.
“My general view is we have to put education first and entertainment second,” Brown said.