Andy Dolich' sudden departure as COO for the 49ers signifies the end of the team's pursuit of Santa Clara for its dream stadium. Not that the stadium had any realistic chance of making it past the ballot proposition and even at that, coming to fruition.
BACKGROUND--
You'll recall just a few weeks back, Jed York, the 49ers boy wonder owner/operator, told the Chron's 'Matier and Ross that he'd consider Oakland as a more viable option than SF's Hunters Point naval shipyards for a stadium. The Oakland push was a PR disaster for York and company; Niners fans lit up message boards lambasting York for even considering Oakland.
The real story: York's Oakland dalliance was in fact pushed hard by Dolich, who once was the marketing wiz for the Haas family when they owned the A's in the late 80's and 90's.
Dolich was specifically hired by the York family, (John York, Jed's father) to get the Santa Clara stadium proposal on the fast track to fruition. Its Dolich who has been instrumental in trying to line up the key players, such as Santa Clara's business community, political figures and the owners of the Great America land where the proposed stadium would sit. Good luck with that now.
Bottom line: the 49ers current hierarchy essentially want no part of any potential SF stadium deal. Other than the "SF" logo and badge, team officials still have a high resentment of city officials, most notably, Mayor Gavin Newsom. They also have no allegiance to SF as a locale; keep in mind the Yorks hail from Ohio and to them, the city of SF may as well be Fresno.
That's why Dolich' abrupt departure spells trouble for the franchise' future location. Santa Clara is off the list. The idea of a shared-stadium with the Raiders at the Coliseum site in Oakland, (which the NFL favors) may be the ultimate back-up plan, but if that fails, don't be surprised if LA makes a play for the team. Oh, remember them? LA is eventually going to build a stadium and it was revealed recently, one of the teams on their consideration list was the 49ers.
**Talk show fodder for the ages: Lane Kiffin's sports mercenary track back to LA to coach USC is sports-talk radio heaven for the national and local outlets. Expect a lot of Kiffin yakking Wednesday on KNBR, ESPN Radio and assorted shows that gravitate toward this type of story.
**Noticed that KNTV/NBC Bay Area was knocked off the air Wednesday morning and Tuesday night during their 11PM News. Apparently, their computer system went south. Many of the stories that anchor Jessica Aguirre were running had no video back-up. Oops.
**Perspective central: Just as the Lane Kiffin story broke, a crawl appeared on the ESPN2 lower screen detailing highlights of the deal. Switch immediately to CNN to see the disaster pictures in Haiti. Talk about real life juxtaposition.
**Follow me on Twitter
I am confused. Are you saying the Dolich departure kills Oakland, Santa Clara and San Francisco deals? All that would remain would be a joint venture with the Raiders or a move to LA?
ReplyDeleteI'm saying that Dolich leaving the 49ers is a deathblow for the Santa Clara stadium deal. I think I made that pretty clear...and if Santa Clara is DOA, it's Oakland and finally, if that fails, probably LA.
ReplyDeleteIf Dolich was in charge of making Santa Clara happen, why did he push York to dally with Oakland?
ReplyDeleteScott--
ReplyDeleteDolich was pushing Oakland, (and so is the NFL) because Santa Clara is essentially dead. Too many obstacles, lots of bureaucratic red tape, financing questions, in essence, nothing concrete, (no pun)...Dolich and to some degree, the Raiders too, offered up Oakland because its far easier and more practical, with an existing stadium, infrastructure in place, BART/Amtrak and a freeway right by. Simply stated, Santa Clara is dead; maybe Jed needed a fall guy and perhaps that was Dolich.
Honestly, it appears the Yorks don't want to put any of their own money into developing a stadium. The only reason their pushing Santa Clara, is because they're the ONLY city government willing to financially risk so much for the 49ers.
ReplyDeleteRich,
ReplyDeletePlease explain further why you think the Santa Clara stadium is DOA. The 49ers just pre-empted the Santa Clara city council's own ballot measure and hired paid signature gatherers to get an astroturf 'citizens' initiative on the ballot in June. They just turned in 8000 signatures, some gathered by purposefully misleading people (see www.santaclaraplaysfair.blogspot.com and the comments on the San Jose Mercury News article on the 8000 signatures). Council member Will Kennedy (who voted no on the 49ers stadium initiative) said the 49ers initiative is an 'advocacy piece' rather than an impartial ballot measure.
"Santa Clara is essentially dead. Too many obstacles, lots of bureaucratic red tape, financing questions, in essence, nothing concrete"
ReplyDeleteThe majority of Santa Clara's politicians are for a stadium. The fact that it will create a debt burden and potential fatal liability from never-ending operating losses doesn't seem to phase them. Stadium's seem to be the modern version of an Egyptian Pyramid to them. A testament to what a great politician they were.
Rich-Santa Clara will own the stadium, according to the Term Sheet. The 49ers will be involved only through the 49ers Stadium LLC. They have not shown that they have a financing plan for their portion of the stadium (53% of the total). If they can't get the right financing, or can't get enough financing, etc., they could close the LLC and walk away, leaving Santa Clara holding the bag. Our city council majority has committed to providing 47% of the money for construction, without a clear financing plan for $330 million of it, other than BBB bonds. This is a financial disaster waiting to happen for Santa Clara.
ReplyDeleteOut of curiousity, can the Raiders, as the primary NFL tenant of the Oakland Coliseum, refuse to share the stadium with the 49ers?
ReplyDeleteThe Santa Clara deal is dead--need prooof? The Dolich firing should indicate that, and I don't care how many signitures are acquired. If Santa Clara was a go, then Dolich would not have been bounced. He was brought in to get the deal done and it's lagging...as for shared-stadium idea, the existing Oak. Coliseum would be restored, (much like Soldier Field in Chicago) and/or a new stadium would go up in the South parking lot presumably financed by both the Raiders and Niners, with an assist from the NFL...if the A's eventually move Downtown, (iffy) or to San Jose, (another pipe dream) the current stadium could be remodeled.
ReplyDeleteSorry, you have this wrong.
ReplyDeleteProFootballTalk:
"While some think that Dolich's exit concludes the Niners' dalliance with Santa Clara as a potential stadium site, we're told that Dolich had little or no role in the pursuit of a new venue, and that the two subjects aren't connected."
Grandmaster: NO, I have "it" right and PFT has it wrong. Trust me.
ReplyDeleteCare to admit you were wrong now, after the stadium measure just passed in SC?
ReplyDelete