San Francisco 49ers' CEO Jed York dreamed of having his jewel of a stadium open a year earlier than expected but even he said it would be difficult.
Now leaders in Santa Clara are vowing to make the difficult possible after finalizing a deal with a construction firm to build the new stadium.
"We're going to be playing football here in 2014," Santa Clara Mayor Jamie Matthews said. "I have
no doubt whatsoever."
Santa Clara finalized a deal with construction partners Turner-Devcon, according to the San Jose Mercurcy News.
And the city has given the developers millions of reasons -- in fines -- to complete construction of the stadium by the start of the 2014 stadium.
The $878 million construction contract with Turner-Devcon is scheduled to be approved by the Santa Clara Stadium Authority Tuesday.
The contract will require that construction start by July 1 and that it be completed by August 2014.
If the completion of the stadium is delayed, the construction firm would be fined $6 million per game the 49ers miss in the new stadium.
