The San Francisco 49ers got a big slap-down at the hands of the pint-sized players of the Santa Clara Youth Soccer League the other night, but it’s the team’s friends at City Hall who could be facing the political penalties for the botched play.

“It was not the Santa Clara way,” said Levi’s Stadium supporter and former Mayor Patricia Mahan, referring to the effort by the Niners and Mayor Jamie Matthews to turn the town’s youth soccer fields into VIP parking for the high rollers at the team’s new, $1 billion-plus playground.

Matthews and the 49ers had been shopping the plan around privately for weeks, and were hoping to push a deal across the goal line by next season that would have the team lease the fields from the city for $15 million over the next 39 years — plus a 20-year option.

Acquiring the 11 acres of fields adjacent to the stadium has been a goal of the 49ers for the past year. Initially, the team offered to rent the fields’ parking lot on game days. When the soccer league rejected that, Niners executives went to the city — which owns the land — with an offer of $15 million up front, plus $3 million to the local school district to build three new soccer fields so the kids could play there.

Back to Gallery 49ers no match for Santa Clara Youth Soccer League 3 1 of 3 Photo: James Tensuan, SFC 2 of 3 Photo: James Tensuan, SFC 3 of 3 Photo: James Tensuan, SFC





In return, the Niners would have been able to pave over the youth league’s fields and obtain rights to develop the property down the line.

But when the ball was snapped, the play broke down.

“These kids have grown up with social media, and they are really, really smart,” said Councilwoman Lisa Gillmor.

The first attack was an online video parody aimed at team owner Jed York, called “Jed the Millionaire,” which four young soccer players sang to the tune of the old “Beverly Hillbillies” theme song (www.standupforsantaclara.com).

“It went viral,” Gillmor said. Then “they hit the phone trees, Facebook — I mean, you are talking about a group of kids and parents who are really well organized.”

The parents took special pains to note that the November election campaigns of Matthews and Councilmen Dominic Caserta and Patrick Kolstad were handsomely financed by 49ers executives. That played into a larger feeling among critics that the council is overly friendly to developers in general.

Put it all together, and it added up to a council chambers filled beyond capacity Tuesday night with aggrieved young soccer players and their parents. It was a news event made to order for TV, which of course turned out in force.

“I think the words they heard the loudest were 'referendum’ and 'recall’ if they passed the deal,” said Councilwoman Teresa O’Neill.

The quarterback sack came at the end of public testimony when Gillmor and O’Neill refused to go into closed session to consider the deal and instead demanded a full public vetting. That effectively killed any chance it had of passing.

“Whether it’s the 49ers or someone else, the fields are still going to be prime land for development,” said Mahan. But she also echoed what others are saying: There needs to be a plan, and if the land is sold, it should be at full market value.

Matthews did not respond to requests for comment.

Niners spokesman Bob Lange said the team would “continue to explore other avenues with our community partners to expand our support of youth sports and add to the public’s experience at Levi’s Stadium.”

Now there are three: Former state Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro has joined the race to replace outgoing U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer in 2016.

Del Beccaro, a real estate lawyer in Walnut Creek, said he plans to run on a platform that includes a nationwide flat tax, the repeal of California’s high-speed-rail bond and a comprehensive water program.

“Obviously, there has been a lack of leadership on the water issue,” Del Beccaro said. “The point is not whether the drought has been brought on by climate change or who or what caused the change. The point is we need to get to work and do what we can to fix the problem.”

As for the flat tax, Del Beccaro said, “Californians deserve to have a tax system that favors everyone, not just the rich.”

Del Beccaro joins GOP Assemblyman Rocky Chávez of Oceanside (San Diego County) and Democratic state Attorney General Kamala Harris as announced candidates.

Staying home: Despite publicly encouraging his fellow Catholics to attend, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone decided to skip Saturday’s rally in Washington against same-sex marriage after hearing from a small cadre of trusted advisers, sources say.

Cordileone had been a star speaker at a similar gathering in June, sparking condemnation from a number of local politicians and gay-rights groups.

Since then, there have been mounting tensions inside the archdiocese — punctuated by that full-page ad in The Chronicle the other day in which more than 100 prominent local Catholics called on Pope Francis to replace Cordileone.

Upshot: Cordileone’s camp feared a second trip to Washington ahead of Tuesday’s oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on the constitutionality of anti-same-sex marriage laws would only invite more troubles on his home turf. Possibly even a repeat of the ugly scene last year outside archdiocese headquarters when protesters tried to deliver 30,000 signatures asking Cordileone not to attend — and were locked out.

It’s an image the archbishop would just as soon avoid, especially after the recent fuss over dousing the homeless with water outside St. Mary’s Cathedral.

San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or e-mail matierandross@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @matierandross