Steve Van Dorn, head of Santa Clara’s Chamber of Commerce and its Convention-Visitors Bureau, wrote an opinion piece for Monday’s Merc in favor of a proposed hotel or transient occupancy tax. The additional 2% levy, which would be tacked onto nightly bills for eight Santa Clara hotels near Great America, is projected to raise $35 million in funds for the stadium.

As noted previously, this isn’t the least bit surprising because the supporting hotels all see dips in business during the fall, and one of them would likely become the hotel of choice for visiting teams. Undoubtedly they would also benefit if the Santa Clara stadium were awarded a Super Bowl, or if a bowl game were played in the area.

Still, even with the tax there’s a projected $51 million funding gap for the Niners’ new digs and some sources that were previously considered are now off limits.