SANTA CLARA, Calif. (KRON) – In a closed session, the Santa Clara Stadium Authority unanimously approved a claim for arbitration on Tuesday to force the San Francisco 49ers to pay alleged owed rent for Levi’s Stadium that went unpaid at the beginning of the month.
In July the 49ers notified Santa Clara that they were going to reduce the facility rent by 20 percent based on an interpretation of lease provisions sighting “untenantable conditions.”
The Stadium Authority, made up of the Santa Clara mayor, city manager, city attorney and the city council, rejected the notice, claiming that rent reduction was not allowed because the cancellations were based on the NFL’s decision to cancel the pre-season, not based on any condition of the stadium.
To use the stadium, the 49ers pay over $24.7 million a year in monthly installments to repay public debt the Stadium Authority incurred to build Levi’s Stadium. The alleged amount owed for September is $2.7 million.