do you think Sacramento will get a new arena built for the Kings? (San Francisco: rental car, sales)

[TomasG3]

the lockout for the NBA could not have come at a worse in my opinion.If there is a lost season or significant time is lost I think the momentum will be lost as for as enthusiasm for finding a plan for it.Personally I think it's a stupid idea in the long run for them to move to Anaheim and try and compete with 2 other NBA teams(especially the Lakers).But money talks.

[Curmudgeon]

I think the question should clearly be, "Will Sacramento get a new arena built BY the Kings?"

[TomasG3]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

I think the question should clearly be, "Will Sacramento get a new arena built BY the Kings?"

The Maloofs are too busy partying in Vegas having to sell off their share of the Palms to do that.I'm shocked the city hasn't tried running these clowns out of town on a rail.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by TomasG3

The Maloofs are too busy partying in Vegas having to sell off their share of the Palms to do that.I'm shocked the city hasn't tried running these clowns out of town on a rail.

No political will or courage!

[pistola916]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

I think the question should clearly be, "Will Sacramento get a new arena built BY the Kings?"

It has to be a public-private partnership. Neither should foot the bill. The Kings are merely tenants, not owners of the new arena. So they will be paying rent to play at the new building.

The new arena is not just for basketball. Let's be clear: This isn't a Kings arena but a Entertainment and Sports Facility for the city. Concerts, wrestling, circus, monster truck shows, the arts, and other events will be held here.

ARCO may not be that old- it was built in 1988 at a cost of $45 million- but it is structurally and physically wearing down. By the time a new arena takes shape. ARCO will be 30 years old but from the outside it looks 50.

It's time for the city to step up and realize Sacramento is not a small town anymore. This isn't about trying to be San Francisco but having some pride in beautifying the city.

The new arena will add construction jobs and perhaps be the catalyst for the railyards.

Lastly, financing is an issue. But, as it looks, there will not be taxes on the public. The arena committee is searching numerous ways to get the arena built including taxes on hotels and rental cars, advertisements, and fees on parking garages on event nights. Parking garages that are usually empty after 5pm and not adding any revenue to the city could inject some significant cash to the project. Also ticket surcharges, so those attending the event will pay and invest to pay off the new arena.

The Maloofs have said they will put their share too as well.

So yes I do feel a new arena will happen.

[NewToCA]

Yes, I think an arena will be built and the Kings will remain in Sacramento.

[sacramento916]

Not sure. I don't want to set myself up for disappointment.

But Sacramento is a city that has a long history of talking and not getting things done.

[wburg]

Everyone knows Sacramento is not a small town--we are, in fact, a big city. Everyone knows that an arena can be used for things besides Kings games. Everyone knows that having the Kings move to Anaheim is dumb, except maybe the Maloofs. But everyone also knows that Sacramento is broke. If no private investor steps up to pay for it, Sacramento will have to borrow money to build an arena. And no matter how much nonsense gets bandied about regarding "paying for" the arena with ticket fees or hotel taxes or parking revenue, nobody dares to mention that these methods aren't what would actually pay for the arena, because of course the arena has to be built BEFORE we start charging ticket fees.

That means the city HAS to take out a big, big loan. And if ticket sales or parking revenues or hotel occupancy is lower than projected, and there isn't enough money generated to pay for the loan payment, then the city of Sacramento has to pay the difference out of their general fund! So much for "it won't cost taxpayers a cent"! Several other cities, like Kansas City and Cincinnati, are now stuck with arenas that are drains on their general fund--and Kansas City doesn't even have a sports team for their arena.

So, to repeat. Yes, we are a big city. Yes, we deserve a basketball team. Yes, an arena has uses other than Kings games. Everyone realizes this, it is obvious--but it is also utterly unimportant compared to the real issue: There is no money to pay for it, and the only method suggested so far to pay for it REQUIRES that the city borrow a large amount of money, almost certainly from bank/vampire squid conglomerate Goldman Sachs. And if examples in other cities are any indication, the city of Sacramento will end up paying for a good chunk of that loan out of the general fund--the same fund that has been so savaged that we're laying off a large chunk of our police department even though we have among the lowest ratio of police to population of any American big city.

[pistola916]

Sacramento Press / Arena opinion poll released, showing support

[shelato]

Fortunately there is no money for an arena locally. As Wburg pointed out neither the city nor the county have the money to pay for a new arena. Its tough to get local governements to pay for new arenas when there are firehouses that are being closed on a rotating basis and when there isn't money for police and sherrif units.

The Maloofs have mostly lost there shirts. They sold of there beer distributerships in an effort to raise money to turn around the Palms. That effort didn't work. Ultimately they had to turn over most of the Palms to there creditors, they now hold only a two percent interest in the Palms.

Maloofs to sell alcohol distributorship - Sacramento Business Journal

Maloofs' stake in Palms at 2 percent - Business - ReviewJournal.com

In order to conserve cash, the Maloofs aren't really investing in the team so they continue to field a team of mostly rookies, keeping the team payroll second lowest in the league. Because the team is so poor they have trouble filling the current aging arena let along paying for a new arena.

HoopsHype - NBA Salaries

So if the local governments can't pay for an arena and the Maloofs can't pay for it, what about getting the developers to pay for? That too is unlikely, the housing market is so poor locally, the market for new construction has largely dried up. As a consequence, governements can't agree to rezone land inorder to pay for new projects. This is why Drexel is having to cancel its plans for a West Coast undergraduate program in Western Placer County near Roseville.

Drexel ends plan for California campus - Philadelphia Business Journal

Eventually the housing market will recover and the tax base will recover for local governments, but the Maloofs probably can't stay solvent long enough to wait for Sacramento to recover. The Maloofs were wealthy kids who squandered there inheritance, they are not savvy businessmen.

In short its looks highly unlikely that Sacramento will manage to keep the Kings. But that is probably a good thing. The record on local governments financing arenas is pretty bad. Read what happened to Cleveland here. Keeping the Bengals in Cleveland pretty much bankrupted the local governments.

Stadium's Costly Legacy Throws Taxpayers for a Loss - WSJ.com