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SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- A new stadium for the 49ers football team would create more than 2,200 jobs and generate $249 million each year in new economic activity in Santa Clara County, according to an economic impact study commissioned by the team.
The 49ers called the numbers a "conservative" view of the boost that a 68,000-seat stadium would give to the city of Santa Clara, about 45 miles south of San Francisco, and the surrounding areas.
The report released Wednesday was prepared by the consulting firm Conventions, Sports & Leisure International in Wayzata, Minn. It comes as the 49ers are expected to ask the Santa Clara city council this month to invest about $180 million in public money to help pay for the new facility.
But some economists cautioned the city against expecting a windfall from a new stadium, saying that sports stadium supporters often overestimate the benefits of such an endeavor while underestimating the costs. They also said the report was lacking in key details including local costs such as road wear and car accidents, and information on how many of the jobs would be full- or part-time.
"I would be cautious or wary of any economic study that claims to bring great wealth to any city that builds a stadium for a pro-sports franchise," said Leo Kahane, a professor at California State University, East Bay who edits the Journal of Sports Economics.
The 49ers are considering a move from its aging current stadium in San Francisco. Team officials have balked at Mayor Gavin Newsom's proposal to build the new facility on the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, a Superfund toxic waste site. They doubt the site can be cleaned up in time to meet the goal of having a new stadium by the start of the 2012 football season.
The San Jose Mercury News reported that rising construction costs have driven the price of the new stadium to more than $950 million, which would make it the most expensive open-air NFL stadium ever built.
The 49ers called the numbers a "conservative" view of the boost that a 68,000-seat stadium would give to the city of Santa Clara, about 45 miles south of San Francisco, and the surrounding areas.
The report released Wednesday was prepared by the consulting firm Conventions, Sports & Leisure International in Wayzata, Minn. It comes as the 49ers are expected to ask the Santa Clara city council this month to invest about $180 million in public money to help pay for the new facility.
But some economists cautioned the city against expecting a windfall from a new stadium, saying that sports stadium supporters often overestimate the benefits of such an endeavor while underestimating the costs. They also said the report was lacking in key details including local costs such as road wear and car accidents, and information on how many of the jobs would be full- or part-time.
"I would be cautious or wary of any economic study that claims to bring great wealth to any city that builds a stadium for a pro-sports franchise," said Leo Kahane, a professor at California State University, East Bay who edits the Journal of Sports Economics.
The 49ers are considering a move from its aging current stadium in San Francisco. Team officials have balked at Mayor Gavin Newsom's proposal to build the new facility on the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, a Superfund toxic waste site. They doubt the site can be cleaned up in time to meet the goal of having a new stadium by the start of the 2012 football season.
The San Jose Mercury News reported that rising construction costs have driven the price of the new stadium to more than $950 million, which would make it the most expensive open-air NFL stadium ever built.
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