Count Randy Shaw at Beyond Chron among those 
not unhappy over the 49ers’ now all-but-certain abandonment of San Francisco for Santa Clara. He calls it “great news for San Francisco taxpayers” not to have to spend to prop up wealthy sports owners and singles out former mayor Gavin Newsom for special praise:
While San Francisco voters have a proven unwillingness to back bad stadium deals, and to subject plans to referendums, credit should also go to former Mayor Gavin Newsom for not bending to pressure from media conglomerates to sell out the city’s interests to satisfy the 49ers demands. Oakland lost tens of millions of dollars on an obscene deal for the Raiders return because former Mayor Elihu Harris feared being blamed for “losing” the team; Newsom did the bare minimum once it was clear that San Francisco could not match Santa Clara’s deal, and the entire city now benefits.
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Some will describe Newsom as the Mayor who “lost the 49ers.” A better description is the Mayor who refused to sacrifice San Francisco’s financial health for a wealthy sports owner, and for a team whose attendance comes largely from outside San Francisco.
