A curfew at Levi's Stadium forced a Grammy-award-winning artist to drop an upcoming 2018 concert date there, and on Tuesday night, Santa Clara city leaders sought a solution to avoid any additional lost shows.
The San Francisco 49ers confirmed on Monday that Ed Sheeran canceled aN August 2018 tour date at Levi's Stadium because of the Santa Clara City Council-imposed 10 p.m. curfew on weeknight events at the facility.
City leaders did not make any changes to the curfew at Tuesday night's meeting, saying they'd first like to get input from the community, especially those living near the stadium.
The Sheeran cancellation cost the city about anywhere from $500,000 to $800,000 in revenues, not to mention lost revenue for the 49ers, who manage the stadium, the team said Tuesday. Many fear that lost money could turn into millions unless the ordinance is changed.
Sheeran's show "will no longer come to Levi's Stadium because after being warned that the music ban would cost the stadium future shows, (Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor) played politics and refused to correct, or even address, the music ban," 49ers team president Al Guido said in a statement Monday.
"Now the community is paying the price," Guido continued. "Four-thousand hardworking individuals have lost their right to work, residents have lost out on millions of dollars in revenue, and music lovers have been denied an opportunity to view a world-class concert."
Gillmor claimed to be surprised by the rejection on Monday.
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"This potential concert loss is news to us," she said in a statement. "We would appreciate the Forty-Niners Stadium Management Company bringing the data and the financial details before the Stadium Authority, particularly since we met just last week."
49ers spokesman Bob Lange said Tuesday that Guido's reference to losing millions in revenue was referring to the previously estimated $100 million in concert revenue over the life of the building.
"Concerts have made between $600,000 and $800,000 per concert for the city's general fund since the building opened," Lange said via email.
The City Council was expected to discuss the next non-NFL event to be held at the stadium during a weekday, a Coldplay concert scheduled for Oct. 4.
At Tuesday's meeting, "we'll discuss numerous opportunities to improve how city-owned Levi's Stadium is managed on behalf of Santa Clara, our neighborhoods and stadium guests," Gillmor said.
According to the city's website, the team and the city have gone back and forth on the Oct. 4 concert's finishing time since late August.
The team sent the city a letter on Aug. 29 saying the Coldplay concert would likely pass the 10 p.m. curfew time. The City Council had declined an extension to 11 p.m. in a 4-3 vote at a stadium authority meeting on Aug. 24.
Santa Clara city spokeswoman Jennifer Yamaguma said that after the motion for a one-time curfew extension failed, the Stadium Authority Board unanimously approved commencing an outreach process to identify a potential community benefits package for impacted residents.
"While the city manager has authority to approve a curfew extension, it was City Manager (Rajeev) Batra's practice to bring requests before the council and stadium authority to seek their guidance," Yamaguma said.
NBC Bay Area's Ian Cull contributed to this report.
