San Pedro Square emerged as the region’s soccer celebration hub as tournament activity drove strong gains for San José hotels and San Jose Mineta International Airport, which welcomed more than 500,000 airport passengers.

Soccer fans return to Levi’s Stadium again tonight for a 9pm match between Austria and Jordan.

The Santa Clara stadium, home for the San Francisco 49ers, will host six matches for the world’s biggest sporting event. Five group-stage games and one round-of-32 knockout match are scheduled over three weeks.

San Jose Gang Investigations Unit detectives used an automated license plate reader to identify the suspect vehicle used to flee the area after the shooting of six people in downtown San Jose after the Feb. 8 Super Bowl in Santa Clara.

There were no reports of immigration arrests or the presence of ICE or Border Patrol agents at Levi's Stadium. The Trump Administration last week had backed off from earlier threats of immigration arrests at the Super Bowl.

Friday is a big day in San Jose, with a sold-out open-air Big Game Block Party at City Hall with Grammy winner Kehlani, followed by a 10pm drone light show in the sky above Discovery Meadow.

The FAA issues a temporary restriction that prohibits all aircraft, including drones, from operating within a three-nautical-mile radius of any stadium with a seating capacity of 30,000 or more people during, among other events, regular or post-season NFL games.

The Department of Homeland Security said ICE and Border Patrol have no plans to steer clear of the Super Bowl, despite the tension and unrest after the two fatal shootings in Minnesota. 

Anthony Becker was found guilty of leaking a 2022 civil grand jury report to a reporter, and then lying about it under oath.

The stadium enhancements, including a new, bigger video screen, are in preparation for the hosting of FIFA World Cup matches and the Super Bowl in 2026.

Mayor Lisa Gillmor called the agreement a “loan shark” deal. The National Football League team had sued the City of Santa Clara because it wanted to pay lower public safety costs, and wanted the Santa Clara Stadium Authority to pay for the VIP buffet at games.

The Santa Clara City Council serves as the governing board for the Stadium Authority and will consider the proposed naming rights extension at its next meeting next Tuesday.

Video footage released to media showed 49ers and Raiders fans fighting each other not long after the Niners played a preseasaon game at nearby Levi's Stadium.

With solid re-election victories by Becker allies Raj Chahal and Karen Hardy, the 2022 election in the City of Santa Clara will result in no change in the 5-2 split in the city council.

With few exceptions, the grand jury report’s observations, conclusions and recommendations landed squarely on one side of the city’s political divide–led by Mayor Lisa Gillmor–that was on the losing end of the 2020 council elections, promping the 49ers to call for an investigation of the grand jury for conflicts of interest.

The settlement ends five years of legal battles between the city and the National Football League team over management of the stadium, and requires the Forty Niners SC Stadium Company and its stadium management firm to pay the city $1,675,000.