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Santa Clara Considers Temporary ‘Special Event Zone’ Near Levi’s Stadium to Curb Street Vending

02:52 AM, 11/22/2025

Santa Clara is proposing a temporary "Special Event Zone" around Levi’s Stadium during Super Bowl 60 and FIFA World Cup matches that could ban street vending and outdoor merchandise sales on event days. Local restaurateurs, including the owner of Bistro Siam, say transit changes and pop-up sellers have hurt business and generally support tighter controls. The proposed zone would reach areas such as Mission College and nearby neighborhoods, prompting calls for precise rules and exemptions for private gatherings. City staff may trim the zone before a City Council discussion on December 9.

Santa Clara officials are weighing a temporary “Special Event Zone” around Levi’s Stadium during Super Bowl 60 and FIFA World Cup matches that would give city regulators power to restrict certain activities — including street vending and outdoor merchandise sales — on event days.

About a ten-minute walk from the stadium is a small strip of locally owned restaurants that rely on steady foot traffic and nearby transit stops. Bennie, owner of Bistro Siam for 15 years, says service and sales are disrupted during big events when transit patterns and pop-up vendors change how customers reach her door.

“I don't think the city thinks about us at all,” Bennie said. “We’re right by the train station, but they don’t even let the train stop here — it goes straight to the stadium. I know that helps traffic, but my worker has to get off and walk.”

The draft ordinance would allow the city to regulate or temporarily prohibit specified activities within the zone for public-safety reasons. A map of the proposed zone stretches to Mission College and covers several dense neighborhoods, which has prompted questions about how broad restrictions should be and who they should apply to.

Harbir Bhatia, CEO of the Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce, urged careful, narrow rules to protect both established businesses and new, mobile entrepreneurs. “We will need to create very specific, well-thought-out policies that do not deter our existing businesses from getting the benefit as well as our new age of businesses which are predominantly pop-ups,” he said.

City Councilman Albert Gonzalez warned the draft is too sweeping in some respects. Under the current language, tents, canopies and inflatables would require city approval inside the zone — a restriction that could affect private gatherings as well as commercial activity.

“We want to make sure if little Johnny or Juanito is having a birthday on a game day that they can still put up a canopy in the park,” Gonzalez said. He emphasized the need for sensible exemptions for private events.

City staff are considering reducing the geographic size of the proposed Special Event Zone and will present refined options for council discussion at the December 9 meeting. Officials say the goal is to balance public safety, crowd management and the economic interests of neighborhood businesses.

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