NBA owners firm about Kings future (Sacramento: crime rate, how much, unemployment)

[CeJeH]

Originally Posted by bluevelo

Look I'm fine with an arena if either the investors, OR the basketball fans - who go to the games - pay for it either out of their own pockets or through ticket surcharges. The city has infrastructure everywhere that needs to be fixed far worse than we need - IMHO - a stupid basketball team. Most people don't care about the Kings and I personally resent how the local media is portraying this like there's majority support within the metro area for the team. There isn't. 3 out of 4 people that I talk to - totally unscientific, of course - don't want public money spent on this. When is NO NO?

Well I'm sure STOP will be happy to collect your signature, as well as the signatures of all the other. 47 people who share your opinion. Good luck getting 33,000!

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by bluevelo

Look I'm fine with an arena if either the investors, OR the basketball fans - who go to the games - pay for it either out of their own pockets or through ticket surcharges. The city has infrastructure everywhere that needs to be fixed far worse than we need - IMHO - a stupid basketball team. Most people don't care about the Kings and I personally resent how the local media is portraying this like there's majority support within the metro area for the team. There isn't. 3 out of 4 people that I talk to - totally unscientific, of course - don't want public money spent on this. When is NO NO?

There is no no when politics and, therefore, dollars are involved. If we were still living in Sacratomato I'd be pounding the drums against public investment in what will ultimately just fatten the purses of the already wealthy. And all this for the benefit of a relative handful of little boys and girls who haven't outgrown their "worship" of a kid's game and those who play (the operative word) it.

[bluevelo]

Originally Posted by CeJeH

Well I'm sure STOP will be happy to collect your signature, as well as the signatures of all the other. 47 people who share your opinion. Good luck getting 33,000!

The issue is not so much basketball as subsidizing the wealthy who can afford the arena without public assistance. The NBA can pay for its OWN arenas. Oh wait, then it wouldn't be profitable if they did that.

The same goes for other professional sports. Spending public dollars on ANY sport is a waste of scarce resources.

The ironic thing is people assume that if a new arena is built that magically, when the Kings aren't playing home games (because they won't be in the playoffs because the NBA is not going to permit Sacramento to get the players to be competitive - they need scrimmage games for their premiere teams like the Lakers, Knicks, Celtics, etc. - most of the league exists to be whipping posts for the big city markets where the bulk of the basketball fans in the US are), that's what, 40 days or so a year the arena is being used for basketball, that somehow a more expensive facility than Arco - with higher rental fees, parking issues, safety issues with the homeless and gangs downtown - is going to attract more concerts, events, conventions, etc. than Arco does *now*.

Its not going to. What Sacramento's downtown *really* needs is a newer venue in the range of 5-8000 seats to accommodate the types of acts that are currently avoiding Sacramento because Arco is too big and the downtown auditorium is too small. The Memorial Auditorium that's on 16th is almost ALWAYS packed on the weekends and even during the week this time of year with graduations, etc. Seems like I'm always seeing a cheer competition down there.

Now, we don't have the assets the Bay Area has, but its too bad we don't have something that could be converted like Craneway Pavilion was to an event/performing arts center. Craneway was the old Ford Factory in Richmond; I saw Bjork there last Tuesday night and what a great place to see a concert comfortably and in a safe environment with plenty of parking and good traffic management. Yes, its also got something Sac doesn't - a hell of a view of the Golden Gate and SF in the background while you watch the concert - but there are surely buildings in the Railyard that could be converted and with the right approach and marketing, we could have a great downtown entertainment complex that offers more than 40 nights a year of mutants blowing dunks and getting arrested after a big loss, or we can watch the saga of the latest NBA player that has raped some young girl while here on a road trip, or the occasional gun show (although its going to be hard to beat the rental rates of Cal Expo for stuff like that), lame boutique national chain restaurants that don't fit into Sacramento, rap concerts that end with violence every single time, junk shops filled with tourist crap...

But the concerts and events that have gone to the Bay Area supposedly because we don't have a state of the art arena ARE still going to go to the Bay Area because we don't have the right kind of venues/market for that stuff and this is a reality arena proponents can't seem to accept.

[CeJeH]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

There is no no when politics and, therefore, dollars are involved. If we were still living in Sacratomato I'd be pounding the drums against public investment in what will ultimately just fatten the purses of the already wealthy. And all this for the benefit of a relative handful of little boys and girls who haven't outgrown their "worship" of a kid's game and those who play (the operative word) it.

Yeah I mean, why loan that $ to developers who are going to build cool stuff downtown and attract more investment when we could be giving that $ to state workers so they can buy a house in Roseville and spend all of it at the Galleria and commute downtown for 40 hours/week before fleeing back to the suburbs at 5pm 5 days/week, right?

[Malloric]

Originally Posted by CeJeH

Yeah I mean, why loan that $ to developers who are going to build cool stuff downtown and attract more investment when we could be giving that $ to state workers so they can buy a house in Roseville and spend all of it at the Galleria and commute downtown for 40 hours/week before fleeing back to the suburbs at 5pm 5 days/week, right?

Exactly. It's all about priorities. Some people like to use the tax payers' money for corporate welfare for billionaires. Others like to use the tax payers' money for teachers, LEOs, the people who keep the parks and pools running, and so on.

Sacramento's still a fun place. You can live outside of Sacramento and get all the benefits of Sacramento's priorities without the worst of the consequences. There's no requirement to be a Sacramento resident to benefit from the developer welfare without having your tax dollars spent on them. The Roseville residents will be the primary beneficiaries of the arena anyway, Sacramento has long since driven off most of the people who could afford to buy a ticket to watch a Kings game long ago with its bad policies.

[CeJeH]

Malloric, Bluevelo, and Wburg all confirmed for S.T.O.P., only 32,997 more signatures to go! Maybe they'll let Curmudgeon sign too!? I mean, he used to live here! Keep it up guys you're doing the Lord's work. Ill even pitch in a 12 pack for the rally

[NewToCA]

Originally Posted by bluevelo

And basically, the NBA has said if the arena doesn't open by 2017, they'll yank the Kings out of Sacramento. Between the lawsuits and delays we'll be watching this soap opera for another four years. STOP will get the signatures, and the subsidy will be gone. Ranadive wanted a team, he's played by Stern's rules, and they'll let him move it wherever he wants in another year or so when it becomes obvious that no arena is going to happen.

They actually didn't state that if the arena doesn't open by 2017 the team will be yanked out of Sacramento.

According to the Bee, what they actually stated was:

If deadlines are blown, Stern told The Sacramento Bee, the NBA has the option of pulling the Kings out of Sacramento and arranging for the team's sale to new owners.

NBA sets deadline for new Sacramento Kings owners to build arena - Kings/NBA - The Sacramento Bee

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by CeJeH

Yeah I mean, why loan that $ to developers who are going to build cool stuff downtown and attract more investment when we could be giving that $ to state workers so they can buy a house in Roseville and spend all of it at the Galleria and commute downtown for 40 hours/week before fleeing back to the suburbs at 5pm 5 days/week, right?

Of course, "they" could actually think about investing in the crumbling infastructure to benefit everyone. But that probably makes too much sense.

Guess you failed the civil service exams, huh? Sorry about that.

Ya gotta throw in at least a case to make it worth while.

[CeJeH]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Of course, "they" could actually think about investing in the crumbling infastructure to benefit everyone. But that probably makes too much sense.

Guess you failed the civil service exams, huh? Sorry about that.

Ya gotta throw in at least a case to make it worth while.

City is doing pretty well for having a "crumbling" infrastructure. All you NIMBYs love to yell about crime problems and lack of policing, yet crime has been down for the last 5 years or so! Things are so bad according to you all yet it seems none of you actually do your homework. You just like to whine and ***** and moan on the Internet. Typical entitled state worker mentality

[NewToCA]

Stats do show that crime has significantly declined during KJ's term in office.

As far as development investment goes, take a ride along Broadway in Oak Park, and see what type of improvements are being made there.

After all is said and done, I'd bet on the arena being successfully completed.