Yesterday, San Francisco 49ers Owner John York shocked the football world by announcing that his organization's backup plan to build a stadium in Santa Clara. They caught San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom by suprise. They threw Santa Clara's mayor Patricia Mahan for a total loop as well. In this the 49ers showed a penchant for bad politics and terrible public relations.
First, regardless of some glaring technical issues with the stadium proposal, everyone I knew was excited about the plans for the new facility at Candlestick Point, and how it would be a key part of the San Francisco Bay Area Olympics Bid. It seemed the responsible and brave act for the 49ers to make their stadium proposal part of the Olympics Bid.
But in one fell swoop, John York has done what he seems very good at doing: upsetting both elected officials and the community. As of this moment, the 69.4 percent of the readers of "DumpYork.com" have rated him the worst owner in the NFL. In an election, such a percentage would be called a landslide of massive proportions. York has angered fans with the way he runs the team -- cheap. He didn't initially handle the famous Videogate scandal well. And now he's pissed off the very elected officials he's supposed to work with.
This is not the way to get a stadium built.
In my experience, a normal developer woos elected officials, puts the legal amount of money in their campaign war chest, and even hosts a fund-raiser or two. But Dr. York has done none of this. Instead, he's acted like the kid who has the basketball everyone wants to play with. When things don't go his way, he gets up and walks off.
But here Dr. York's playing with grown ups, and dangerously thinking that he can just piss off elected officials. As much as politicians are put-down and picked-on, they do serve as the guardians of our government, and should not be taken lightly, but Dr. York does by his actions. He's had a number of people working on proposals and poor San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom meeting with Olympics officials and running around the World touting San Francisco as the best place for the Olympics. He's had Lennar's Kofi Bonner -- formerly a Bay Area municipal official of high regard -- negotiating with representatives of several jurisdictions which have a hand in the Candlestick Point recreation area
Now, York threatens to scuttle all of the work of these good folks. Moreover, he's got no deal with Santa Clara and is playing with the most dangerous fire of all: the Santa Clara City Council.
City Council's are where the rubber meets the road of politics in a city. They have to decide how the roads get fixed and the schools get books. Dr. York has to first create a plan and then pass the plan to the council and then make sure they pass it.
But John's done no political work down there and doesn't even know the players. He's not contributed to their campaigns or really done any wooing of them, much less meeting them. He's in a real pickle and it's one he's created for himself.
The best way out of this is for John to stop what he's doing, meet with Gavin, appologize, and get back on track. Yes, he will further upset the leaders in Santa Clara, who feel like they're being used to begin with and are currently placed in the position of indirectly spoiling the Bay Area's Olympics Bid by working with the 49ers, but let's face it. Santa Clara will not bite on that big chunk of a stadium cost when they realize they may have to be the fiscal backer of whatever "private" deal York's people come up with. That deal will almost certanly approach $1 billion.
Plus, York doens't have Kofi Bonner to help him down there.
Something bad happened behind the scenes for this to unravel and the man who best knows what happened isn't talking: Kofi Bonner. I can see the Candlestick Plan as having Kofi's signature of urban planning all over it. Knowing Kofi since 1986, my guess is that he tried to smooth over a misunderstanding and it went South.
What I mean is that it was Kofi's working with the architects and land planners in his role of Senior Vice President of Urban Land with Lennar that created the 10,000 square - foot parking lot that the 49ers complained about. But Lennar needs the land that would be used for parking for the housing. Plus, having the housing's a key part of the stadium financing plan. So I don't know why John would be so hard headed, but apparently he was not only that, but a bit angry.
John, go back to Gavin and make peace; and buy Kofi dinner and a nice Gin and Tonic. Forget Santa Clara; it's not going to work.
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