At a time when the Vikings and the Chargers are still struggling to find fixes for their stadium situations, the 49ers have taken a huge step toward building a new venue in Santa Clara.
On Friday, the team and its new Bay Area city announced that financing has been obtained for the $1 billion project.
“It’s like first and goal from the 9-yard line,” Santa Clara consultant Ron Garratt said, according to the San Jose Mercury News. “We think we’re going to score from here.”
(Yeah, because every team that has first and goal from the nine always turns it into a touchdown.)
The money will come via $850 million in loans from Goldman Sachs, U.S. Bank, and Bank of America. But an unexpected twist has arisen; Santa Clara will assume more than twice the amount of debt that Santa Clara had previously planned to shoulder.
“This makes it a reality,” Mayor Jamie Matthews said. “For all the people who thought it would be impossible to get financing in this environment, we got three of the biggest banks. Next to the groundbreaking, this is the biggest event.”
Groundbreaking could come as soon as the middle of 2012.
The biggest remaining question is whether the Raiders will join the 49ers, in what would be the latest revival of one of Neil Simon’s most popular plays.