Taylor Swift performs on stage during The Eras Tour at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Friday, July 28, 2023. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
When Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour stopped at Levi’s Stadium last weekend, the pop star captivated the audience as she closed out her sold out shows with a stream of fireworks.
And, while concert-goers were thrilled, the city not so much.
Santa Clara is issuing a $2,000 fine against Pyrotek, the pyrotechnics company used by Swift, for setting off the fireworks after 11 p.m.
Santa Clara has an 11 p.m. curfew for concerts at Levi’s Stadium and Swift ended her show at 11:38 p.m. on Friday and 11:26 p.m. on Saturday, capping off her three-and-a-half-hour show with her hit song “Karma” from her 2022 album “Midnights” and a cascade of fireworks behind her.
In an email, city spokesperson Michelle Templeton said city staff is also reviewing whether they will fine the San Francisco 49ers, who manage the stadium for non-NFL events, for the curfew-breaking concert.
“Any noise ordinance violations will be determined after a post-event review of recorded noise levels and noise complaints,” Templeton said. “Compiling this information may take a couple weeks.”
She said that previous concert fines for noise and curfew violations have ranged from $750 to $2,100. The Santa Clara Police Department’s dispatch didn’t receive any noise complaints for either of Swift’s concert dates, Templeton noted.
But while the jury is still out on whether the 49ers will incur a fine on Swift’s behalf, the city is taking action against Pyrotek for violating its permit by setting off fireworks after the 11 p.m. cutoff time. The pyrotechnics company, which has done work for other artists like Jennifer Lopez and the Jonas Brothers, will be fined $2,000 — $1,000 per night. Several members of the Pyrotek team could not immediately be reached for comment.
The curfew at Levi’s Stadium has been a point of contention for years. In 2021, the Santa Clara City Council voted to extend weeknight curfews for five shows a year from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. The weekend curfew for Friday and Saturday, however, remained at 11 p.m.
While the city is still weighing whether or not to fine the 49ers over the curfew, Mayor Lisa Gillmor ensured that the team will be fined.
“These neighborhood protections were agreed to by the 49ers and the city as conditions of development of the stadium,” Gillmor wrote in an email. “It was a compromise for building a stadium near residential areas. Keeping in mind that it takes approximately two to four hours after an event to clear the stadium these protections are reasonable for our residents.”
The 49ers, through spokesperson Jacob Fill, declined to comment.
Councilmember Suds Jain didn’t weigh in on whether the city should issue the 49ers a fine, but said he would be open to looking at a change in the weekend curfew.
“If we can get these big shows and make some money for the city, it’s something the city could look at,” he said.
The San Francisco 49ers have alleged in the past that the curfew has cost the city millions in revenue. In 2017, Sheeran dropped Levi’s Stadium from his tour dates because of the 10 p.m. curfew. His current tour, however, is set to come to Santa Clara next month.
The city has issued citations in the past for breaking the Levi’s Stadium curfew, fining the 49ers $1,000 each time in 2017 after both U2 and Coldplay broke the 10 p.m. curfew.
Originally published at Grace Hase