Opponents of 49ers stadium collect signatures supporting referendum

Opponents of plans to move the 49ers to Santa Clara took action Saturday in a hail Mary effort to stop stadium construction.

Members of Santa Clara Plays Fair hit the streets Saturday and tried to gather more than 4,500 signatures as part of a referendum drive to stop the new stadium from being built.

And some Santa Clara residents were signing on.

 “$850 million in loans, we're a small city of 114,000 people, that's too much debt,” said Michele Ryan of Santa Clara Plays Fair. “All of our funds coming into this city are going to go to this stadium instead of schools (and) education where it should be actually going.”

In June, 2010, Santa Clara voters approved Measure J, giving the green light for the new 49ers stadium.

According to the group, members are collecting signatures is because they feel the voters weren’t well informed about how much the stadium would cost-- close to a $1 billion.

“Because this deal is so different we've been hearing from people who supported Measure J who said, ‘This is not what I voted for,’” Ryan said.

Last month, the Santa Clara Stadium Authority approved $850 million in loans needed to build the stadium.

Santa Clara resident Bill Dewald supports the stadium.

“It just takes that kind of money anyway to do those kind of things,” he said.

If the referendum drive is successful Santa Clarans could vote on the issue yet again in a special election, which could happen as early as this summer.

“I think in the long run it just won’t benefit our city completely,” Dewald added.

Santa Clara Plays Fair has 10-days left to collect its signatures