Fancy Play: 49ers Do Double U-Turn on Girl Scout Sleepover at Levi's Stadium

By BEA KARNES (Patch Staff)

Local Girl Scouts were trying to earn a sweet reward in this year’s cookie sales - dubbed 50 Cases to the 50 Yard Line, if they sold 600 boxes of cookies they earned a sleepover at Levi’s Stadium in May.

The goal captured the girls’ imagination and they were working hard to earn that sleepover. But there was a small problem - a clause in the contract that allowed the team to boot the scouts from the schedule if something more lucrative came along.

And it did - the girls were informed that the sleepover was off.

One Girl Scout showed resilience in the face of disappointment, telling KPIX “I was sad, but maybe we’ll get a chance to do something similar.”

Their parents and troop leaders were also disappointed, including Tri-Valley troop leader Yvette Shaheen, “You know, fulfilling an obligation is a big part of Girl Scouts and doing what you say you’re going to do, and following through. So that’s an important message for us to send to our girls.”

But Marina Park, Girl Scouts of Northern California CEO, looked for a positive message in the disappointing news, “A really important part of the sale for us is it is about developing business skills. So, we need to let the girls know (that) not everything goes your way in business and sometimes things happen that you wish didn’t happen and you pick yourself up and you move forward.”

Part of moving forward for the 49ers was finding a new path for the Girl Scouts. Bob Lange, VP of Communications for the the team, has informed the Girl Scouts that the sleepover is back on - it’s just been moved to another day. Furthermore, the date, May 21, is guaranteed by the 49ers and the team is underwriting all costs.

Another lesson in business: sometimes things work out beautifully.