Santa Clara has nearly recovered all its costs from the Super Bowl and is well on its way to getting reimbursed for its costs for the upcoming slew of FIFA World Cup games.
At its most recent meeting April 14, the Santa Clara City Council got an update on how much of the city’s costs for the marquee events the Bay Area Host Committee (BAHC) has paid. The city had previously negotiated with the BAHC to ensure the city is not on the hook for any event-related costs.
“Under these agreements, the host committee is contractually responsible for reimbursing the city for all qualified event expenses,” said Elizabeth Klotz, assistant city manager. “These include planning, staff, training, equipment and event-day operations.”
Klotz said 99% of the invoices were paid within 30 days, and the city is still reconciling costs and preparing for the World Cup. Costs from September to December 2025 have yet to be reimbursed, but the city has recovered $611,000, with $268,000 still pending.
The city has been reimbursed $333,000 of the $688,000 it has invoiced for the World Cup.
Disputed training and travel costs totaling $71,000 are still pending and will require a separate agreement to settle, Klotz said.
Deployment and planning costs for the World Cup are estimated at $11.5 million.
Mayor Lisa Gillmor took issue with how long it is taking for the city to get fully reimbursed for its costs, bemoaning that the city is “floating” money instead of having immediate repayment. She called the process for the city getting repaid “onerous.”
“Having funds available is not the same as having funds accessible,” she said.
Council Member Kevin Park said fixating on costs is doing a disservice to the city. Big-ticket events benefit the city in various ways, he added, and just looking at costs doesn’t tell the whole story.
“Business is really about a relationship,” he said. “We don’t really understand what business is … if you don’t have that relationship — if you don’t know who your local drugstore owner is, who your local toy store owner is, who your tailor is, who your doctor is — if you don’t have these relationships, then all you care about is cost. Then you’ll go on places like Amazon.”
City Manager Jovan Grogan said Santa Clara is already “far ahead and much better off” than other cities, adding that other cities “envy” Santa Clara’s position.
Council Member Raj Chahal said the city is in “good shape” and that city employees seemed to have “covered all the bases.”
The item was simply to file the report. The next update is scheduled for May 1.
Downtown Community Task Force Request Defeated
An item that would delve into the city’s bidding process for projects downtown failed to gain traction.
Frustration by members of the downtown community task force caused Park to bring forward the item. An operational snag caused the bid to close before contractors the members would have liked to be considered could apply.
Grogan said work has already been underway to streamline the process for contractors bidding on work downtown and elsewhere. Further, the process is already part of the council’s priorities, he added.
However, Park said having the task force’s concerns be heard at a public meeting would “memorialize” and “make real” any decisions. The council and city employees should be the gatekeepers about what is worthy of discussion, he added.
“There were a lot of promises, a lot of back and forth being had. Those promises kind of ended up at nothing,” he said. “Then you say these are already being contemplated, these are already being done. I don’t think they are.”
Council Member Karen Hardy said she worried that agendizing the item while city employees are already working on it would muck up the works. Also, she added, she was concerned that allowing the task force to have a say in what contractors the city hires could open the city to liability.
But Park called that characterization “premature,” saying the request doesn’t specify that the task force be allowed to choose contractors.
While Council Members Suds Jain and Chahal joined Park in support, Hardy and Vice Mayor Albert Gonzalez dissented. Since Gillmor and Council Member Kelly Cox needed to recuse themselves, the motion failed to get the required majority to pass.
Contact David Alexander at d.todd.alexander@gmail.com
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