49ers President and CEO Jed York took a few minutes to chat with Bay Area media on Thursday following the announcement that the team had secured $200 million in loans and other financing options through the NFL G-4 fund. The G-4 fund replaced the G-3 fund with the development of the new collective bargaining agreement. Jed York stated that the $200 million included a variety of support from the league and was not strictly a loan. Rather, it was a slightly more complicated mix of money.
The important point he made was that this more or less wraps up the team's financing for the stadium. Construction projects can have cost overruns, but for the purposes of the current budget, the financing is good to go. The $850 million loan taken out by the 49ers and the Santa Clara Stadium Authority represent the vast majority of the financing and will be paid back through a variety of mechanisms, including naming rights, sponsorship deals and stadium builders' licenses, among other things. It is worth noting that while the Santa Clara Stadium Authority is joining the 49ers in taking out these massive loans, the 49ers are the ones that are on the hook for this deal.
There were several questions about the high priced tickets and seat builders' licenses that have been reported by the media. York made it clear that only approximately 9,000 seats have price points attached and available. These included a lot of the club seats and other high end tickets, which means the lower end price points are not set yet. That does not mean tickets will be "cheap" by any stretch of the imagination, but they will be more affordable than the price points currently out there.
York was asked about potentially working with the Raiders and having co-tenants of the stadium. Although the 49ers and Raiders have discussed the new Santa Clara stadium at high levels, it is more been a matter of keeping Oakand appraised of what is going on. There have been no "meaningful discussions" between the two teams beyond that.
Jed York closed by stating that the team would still remain connected with the city of San Francisco, and would hope to find creative measures to keep the relationship. The team will remain the San Francisco 49ers, so it makes sense to keep a cordial working relationship.