do you think Sacramento will get a new arena built for the Kings? (Stanford: schools, closing)

[Majin]

One thing is certain, Stern will not let George Maloof sabatoge the deal then turn around and approve the kings to move the anaheim. At best he will force the maloofs to sell.

[ryuns]

As long as the city isn't throwing more money on the table, I'm kind of enjoying the hijinks. It will be really interesting to see where Stern takes this, but it's pretty clear from his willingness to front the $200k that he's not happy with the Maloof hypocrisy. Add to that all the other enemies they've made in a hurry (including the friggin state Senate President Pro Tem) and it's really hard to imagine the ESC happening with them in the picture.

[NorCal Dude]

There really needs to be a back up plan in order for the site at natomas. It is bumpkin, backwards, and regressive, but it is better than NOTHING.

[wburg]

Unfortunately, the Mayor doesn't believe in backup plans.

The latest twist--the Maloofs' attorneys have submitted some massive Public Records Act requests:

Kings lawyers bombard city clerk for information | ranSACkedmedia

I'm starting to wonder if there were things going on that the Maloofs didn't know, or were shut out of, since apparently they weren't the ones negotiating with the city. Didn't this happen 6 years ago?

[NorCal Dude]

Unfortunately, the Mayor doesn't believe in backup plans.

Sounds like he and the local bumpkins have a common ground, then.

[wburg]

The mayor is a local bumpkin!

[wburg]

Wow...turns out the six-page letter to John Dangberg was just the Reader's Digest version of the Maloofs' list of concerns and problems about the arena!

Here's the full 11-page letter, complete with extended drum solo:

032012 Maloof Letter

To sum up their issues:

Under the heading of timeline feasibility:
1. The city is already behind its own schedule.
2. There isn't enough time for proper CEQA review.
3. The project severely messes with the Railyards EIR.
4. Most of the road improvements that the ESC needs before opening aren't budgeted or even planned yet. Likewise for utilities and transit facilities.
5. Lots of government agencies have to sign off on this, there probably isn't enough time to do it by 2015.
6. Lots of politicians with more political sway than the mayor, including the governor and our congresswoman, have voiced serious concerns about the plan and the site.
Under the heading of site plan and design:
1. Putting the arena floor below grade risks huge water intrusion problems due to the high water table and proximity to the river. Putting the arena floor at grade may make it too massive to fit on the site.
2. The support columns that hold up I-5 are right where the truck loading area is indicated.
3. The intermodal facility is now supposed to move to a 2-acre parcel the city doesn't own, but there is no assurance that Inland will sell it for the price the city suggests.
4. Parking. It's too far away, there isn't enough, and even the premium parking is inconveniently located.
5. It's a pretty good chance more toxic remediation work will be needed.
6. The area is archaeologically sensitive, which will most likely cause delays.
And then there's the section on funding problems!
1. The city's plan is based on very rosy projections of ticket sales (PBP gets about 1.5 million visitors a year, the ESC is based on a projected 3 million visitors for a venue of the same size with a similar number of events.)
2. Additional funding needs identified but not funded--the city knows more money is needed, but not how much or how they will pay for it.
3. Some of the funding will come from the sale of Natomas land, but that land is worth a lot less until the building moratorium is lifted, and we have no idea how long that will take. The estimate of parking worth is based on dramatically increased costs of parking, and the estimate of the parking contract's value doesn't take into account that revenue from Kings game nights would go to the Maloofs, not the parking contractor.

[Curmudgeon]

So the bottom line seems to be that the city "fathers" have become no better at planning than they were when I lived there. A new arena will not likely benefit Sacramento in the long run. If anything, it will only increase debt and in this case, traffic as well.

[pistola916]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

So the bottom line seems to be that the city "fathers" have become no better at planning than they were when I lived there. A new arena will not likely benefit Sacramento in the long run. If anything, it will only increase debt and in this case, traffic as well.

So the current arena should stay the way it is forever. It is the ugliest arena in the country. It seems every major city is upgrading or building a venue but not Sacto. At some point the city is going to need a new arena, why not just build it now while construction cost are cheap?

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by pistola916

So the current arena should stay the way it is forever. It is the ugliest arena in the country. It seems every major city is upgrading or building a venue but not Sacto. At some point the city is going to need a new arena, why not just build it now while construction cost are cheap?

I didn't say that. What I said was that obviously the planning is lacking. The funding is too. Surely there are more pressing matters the city could attend to for the benefit of all, not just a handful of fans.