At one point, the relationship between the 49ers and Santa Clara seemed to be fractured beyond repair. Now, allegations have emerged that things between team and city have gotten too cozy.
A civil grand jury recently concluded that five members of City Council routinely “put the 49ers’ interests ahead of the city’s interests,” via Sports Business Daily. The effort has been characterized by the 49ers as a “shocking political hatchet job.”
The drama is unfolding as a hotly-contested mayoral election approaches. The 49ers are on one side, and Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is on the other.
“I’ve never seen anything like this in all my life,” 49ers spokesperson Rahul Chandhok told San Jose Inside. Chandhok called the civil grand jury “a partisan group of cronies co-opting the justice system to release campaign propaganda based on fake facts to benefit one person -- Lisa Gillmor.”
Santa Clara Police Chief Pat Nikolai has asked District Attorney Jeffrey Rosen to investigate the situation.
Like every other political issue, there are two diametrically opposed positions, with no middle ground. The 49ers have invested a lot of money to influence elections in recent years, in an obvious effort to experience better treatment from the city in which the team’s stadium is located.
