Taylor Swift and Beyonce got no fines for breaking Santa Clara’s curfew. What about Metallica and Morgan Wallen?

Santa Clara rolled out the red carpet when Taylor Swift and Beyonce came to town in the summer of anointing the global pop superstars as honorary mayors before they took the stage for their respective concerts at Levi s Stadium Now after a lengthy study into whether Swift s The Eras Tour and Beyonce s Renaissance Tour broke the stadium s notorious p m curfew city bureaucrats are admitting they did but declining to issue any citations The curfew p m Sundays through Thursdays and p m on Fridays and Sundays has been a point of contention in Santa Clara for years as the stadium which opened in abuts a residential neighborhood As Levi s Stadium prepares to kick off its concert series later this month a lineup boasting Metallica The Weeknd and Morgan Wallen the city s decision not to enforce curfew violations raises questions as to what kind of precedent they have set and whether the curfew serves any real purpose Mayor Lisa Gillmor an avid critic of the San Francisco ers the managers of stadium events revealed in an email that when curfew violations have occurred in the past the city has fined the band It s their responsibility to manage our stadium by following all our laws rules and regulations Gillmor explained The ers have argued in the past that the p m weeknight stop time has cost the stadium millions in revenue It prompted the Santa Clara City Council in to relax the plan and allow the city manager to grant five weeknight curfew exemptions each year that would let artists perform an extra hour Both of Swift s July shows which were held on weekend nights blew past the p m cut off ending at p m and p m by the Bay Area News Group s measure Beyonce received a curfew extension for her August concert which was held on a Wednesday but still closed out the night at p m with Summer Renaissance City spokesperson Janine De la Vega described the Bay Area News Group in a comment that the city recognizes that curfew violations occurred However the only citation issued was a fine against Pyrotek the pyrotechnics company used by Swift for setting off fireworks after p m De la Vega did not elaborate on why the city declined to enforce the curfew instead writing in a report that it will continue to work with the ers as they manage relationships with event promoters to bring concerts and other amazing events to Levi s Stadium The city will closely monitor upcoming events with the goal of working toward appropriate strategies so that performers can adhere to curfew The city has levied fines against the ers for curfew violations on several occasions though the amount is typically no more than a sparse thousand dollars A spokesperson for the ers stated in a comment that the band is looking forward to another exciting line-up of events this summer The past three years have been the largest part profitable in Stadium Authority history thanks to the non-NFL events booked at Levi s Stadium the spokesperson mentioned in response to questions about the city s decision not to cite them for curfew violations Councilmember Albert Gonzalez who assumed office in December and represents the district around the stadium mentioned the city has struck a happy medium with the curfew and the city manager s ability to grant five weeknight extensions When demanded about Swift and Beyonce s curfew violations Gonzalez noted he wants to ensure that the city deals with it in an even balanced fashion that doesn t negatively portray an artist or a promoter If the city doesn t issue citations for well-liked mainstream artists who violated the curfew he commented they shouldn t single out lesser-known acts How we communicate even in times when we do have a fine is pivotal Gonzalez revealed Sometimes there are different venues artists can have events at and if they re getting a negative reception in the media it s something they d rather not deal with The councilmember added that the city has also been looking at options to minimize the impact of events at the stadium on nearby residents Councilmember Raj Chahal who opposed the ballot initiative to build a new stadium in Santa Clara more than a decade ago described the curfew as a highly political issue in an interview and noted that he trusts city agents discretion Chahal explained that while the curfew garners a lot of attention a previous survey conducted by EMC Research proved that neighbors were more concerned with traffic parking issues littering and loitering Unless we want to treat the stadium as any other business Chahal mentioned I think fighting with the stadium on these minor issues is not financially healthy for the city of Santa Clara