<p>From Techcrunch.com: Based on a couple recent conversations with some well-connected Stanford alums, my understanding is that it had already become clear that Stanford and the city were not going to work things out, so the city had Stanford go ahead and say it was out as a more gracious alternative to simply losing the bid.</p>
<p>Stanford withdrew its application because of the large donation given to Cornell for this project. They knew that they were going to to lose.</p>