REPORT TO STADIUM AUTHORITY BOARD
SUBJECT
Title
Informational Report on the Release of the Interim and Final Arbitration Awards in the Stadium Lease Arbitration
Report
BACKGROUND
In March 2012, the Santa Clara Stadium Authority (SCSA) and the Forty Niners SC Stadium Company, LLC (StadCo) entered into a lease for Levi's Stadium, subsequently amended and restated in June 2013 (Stadium Lease), that requires StadCo to pay a Facility Rent to the Stadium Authority in the amount of $24.5 million per year totaling $980 million over the 40 year lease term.
On March 22, 2016, at a meeting of the Santa Clara Stadium Authority (SCSA) Board, StadCo presented its request for a reduction in annual rent to $20.25 million annually. This amounted to a reduction in Facility Rent to SCSA of $4.25 million each year, or $170 million over the term of the lease. The Board rejected the request to reduce the rent, and unanimously passed a motion to allow the dispute resolution process outlined in Exhibit L to the Stadium Lease to proceed. In May 2016, StadCo filed a request for arbitration of the annual rent amount.
DISCUSSION
While the amount of the rental award itself is a public matter, the arbitration proceeding was conducted confidentially pursuant to the terms of the Lease. The Lease requires that confidentiality of arbitration be maintained "unless otherwise required by law." The Arbitrator's Award consists of an Interim Award containing the Arbitrator's statement of decision that was issued on June 18, 2018 and an Order re the Parties' Interim Award Responses date August 2, 2018 which essentially serves to make the Interim Award final. The Stadium Authority did not release these documents while it was determining whether or not its contractual obligations regarding confidentiality would prohibit a voluntary release of the full documents.
On August 14, 2018 the Stadium Authority Executive Director received a California Public Records Act request for the Arbitration Award d...
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