The event we have been dreading is now officially moving forward. Super Bowl 50 is coming to Santa Clara. When it was announced my family was not amused. On a good day, traffic in the area sucks. Santa Clara has never really planned properly for the traffic surrounding the new stadium. The first events held there were famous for the traffic and parking failures. Game day, don't event bother driving in the area. Ridiculous "safety perimeters" are set up around the stadium for a normal game as well.
Now construction has started. Joy.
The only amusement that I have had out of this event is to see the level of shenanigans that go on surrounding the event. The city of Santa Clara decided to break the law and sign a contract with the NFL that violates both a previously existing contract and the city's own rules. The losers? 1600 kids who's soccer fields are being turned into a media village. Closed door meetings and legal back room decisions, in addition to a ill advised attempt by the city to sell the land to the Forty-Niners organization for pennies on the dollar, have marred event already. The current lawsuit has not stopped the NFL from destroying the field, but there may be legal issues later.
This event should (theoretically) be a great economic boon for the area. However, guess where Super Bowl City will be located? In San Francisco, almost fifty miles away. Fully half the events are actually happening in San Francisco. In normal traffic during the week, that is over an hour away. I found this to be really entertaining, since San Francisco did not bother to build a new stadium to house the team. Another event is planned for Walnut Creek, even farther away.
Homeland Security is shutting down everything withing 300 feet of the stadium for the entire weekend. So, if you were planning to come into the area during that weekend on Amtrak or CalTrain, you can't get any transportation from the station. No word on light rail, but I am sure it will be screwed up in some way. This is also shutting down a local restaurant, which they did contract out for the entire weekend, but unless that is the exclusive watering hole for the media village, they will miss out on serious money.
Most people I know are looking to either get out of town or not leave the house to avoid any of the fiasco we expect. Some are looking to AirBnB their place during the events to make money. I wish them good luck. Me, based on all the BS surrounding this event, I hope El Nino brings lots of rain.
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