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07-10-2006, 08:35 PM
Arena financing talks revived
Informal discussions lead to meeting Tuesday in Las Vegas
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 12:01 am PDT Monday, July 10, 2006
Two weeks after intense negotiations on a private/public financing plan for a new Sacramento arena collapsed in frustration, talks have been resurrected.
Representatives of the Kings, the city of Sacramento and Sacramento County, along with officials from the NBA, are scheduled to meet Tuesday in a last-second effort to reach agreement and secure a ballot measure in time for the November election.
The most recent proposal would require voter approval for an increase in Sacramento County's sales tax. The revenue would help pay for a sports/entertainment complex to replace 18-year-old Arco Arena, along with other community projects for cities within the county.
Though the participants remain divided on some fundamental issues -- foremost among them the cost of construction and the percentage of public and private contributions -- ongoing informal talks prompted a renewed, if tempered, sense of optimism and led to the upcoming meeting at the Palms in Las Vegas.
"We've got a chance now," Sacramento Vice Mayor Rob Fong said Sunday, "and we're not walking out of that room until we have something we can take to the voters.
"We all know what the deal is. Everyone recognizes how important the Kings are to our community, and in our recent conversations with the league, we made it very clear that Sacramento is committed to remaining an NBA city."
Since talks were suspended June 29, with the parties splitting amicably but dispersing nonetheless, the following has occurred:
• A group consisting of Fong, Assistant City Manager John Dangberg and county economic development director Paul Hahn flew to New York last Thursday and asked NBA executives to intervene. (County Supervisor Roger Dickinson participated via speaker phone). NBA Commissioner David Stern, who is overseas on vacation and unable to attend, monitored developments and directed league attorneys Harvey Benjamin and possibly Joel Litvin to participate in Tuesday's gathering at the Palms.
• Fong, Dangberg and Hahn flew to Memphis on Friday and toured the FedEx Forum, the Grizzlies' home court that is serving as the model for a Sacramento-area building. And this sticker shock provides the jolt: Completed in 2004, before the cost of materials and construction skyrocketed -- and disregarding the significantly higher prices in the western United States -- the 18,119-seat Memphis facility was financed for approximately $250 million, well below the Maloofs' projections for a similar Sacramento structure.
• Joe and Gavin Maloof, co-owners of the Kings and Monarchs, initiated Tuesday's session and suggested they be held in Las Vegas to ensure the presence of George Maloof, the younger brother and brainchild of the family's hotel-casino operation. The other Kings officials expected to attend are team President John Thomas and former Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, who has been hired by the organization on a short-term basis. The city/county interests will be represented by Fong, Dangberg, Hahn and arena and stadium consultant Dan Barrett.
In order to qualify for the November ballot, the proposal has to be approved by county supervisors and the ballot language submitted in early August. If the parties don't reach agreement in this time frame, they will have to wait until 2008 before they can place a financing proposal before voters.
"Sacramento is a big city," said Joe Maloof, contacted Sunday in Las Vegas, "and regardless of who owns the team, it needs a new arena. We all have be realistic and find a way.
"It's not just about the Kings and the Monarchs. You're talking about concerts and other events, and having to compete with cities all over the country that have modern facilities and great sound systems and other physical amenities. That's what we're dealing with here. And the longer we wait, the higher constructions cost will go. Copper, steel, they're already astronomical. We just can't wait another two years (for 2008 ballot)."
More quietly, he added, "but I'm more optimistic than I was the other day. Let's just get an agreement and let the people vote on it. We're not trying to hide anything. Once we get this on the ballot, we'll explain everything. People have to trust us."
"They have to look at how we run our business. Ever since we came to Sacramento, we've put a great product on the court. But after all these years of back and forth, we've got to get something done. It's time."
Informal discussions lead to meeting Tuesday in Las Vegas
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 12:01 am PDT Monday, July 10, 2006
Two weeks after intense negotiations on a private/public financing plan for a new Sacramento arena collapsed in frustration, talks have been resurrected.
Representatives of the Kings, the city of Sacramento and Sacramento County, along with officials from the NBA, are scheduled to meet Tuesday in a last-second effort to reach agreement and secure a ballot measure in time for the November election.
The most recent proposal would require voter approval for an increase in Sacramento County's sales tax. The revenue would help pay for a sports/entertainment complex to replace 18-year-old Arco Arena, along with other community projects for cities within the county.
Though the participants remain divided on some fundamental issues -- foremost among them the cost of construction and the percentage of public and private contributions -- ongoing informal talks prompted a renewed, if tempered, sense of optimism and led to the upcoming meeting at the Palms in Las Vegas.
"We've got a chance now," Sacramento Vice Mayor Rob Fong said Sunday, "and we're not walking out of that room until we have something we can take to the voters.
"We all know what the deal is. Everyone recognizes how important the Kings are to our community, and in our recent conversations with the league, we made it very clear that Sacramento is committed to remaining an NBA city."
Since talks were suspended June 29, with the parties splitting amicably but dispersing nonetheless, the following has occurred:
• A group consisting of Fong, Assistant City Manager John Dangberg and county economic development director Paul Hahn flew to New York last Thursday and asked NBA executives to intervene. (County Supervisor Roger Dickinson participated via speaker phone). NBA Commissioner David Stern, who is overseas on vacation and unable to attend, monitored developments and directed league attorneys Harvey Benjamin and possibly Joel Litvin to participate in Tuesday's gathering at the Palms.
• Fong, Dangberg and Hahn flew to Memphis on Friday and toured the FedEx Forum, the Grizzlies' home court that is serving as the model for a Sacramento-area building. And this sticker shock provides the jolt: Completed in 2004, before the cost of materials and construction skyrocketed -- and disregarding the significantly higher prices in the western United States -- the 18,119-seat Memphis facility was financed for approximately $250 million, well below the Maloofs' projections for a similar Sacramento structure.
• Joe and Gavin Maloof, co-owners of the Kings and Monarchs, initiated Tuesday's session and suggested they be held in Las Vegas to ensure the presence of George Maloof, the younger brother and brainchild of the family's hotel-casino operation. The other Kings officials expected to attend are team President John Thomas and former Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, who has been hired by the organization on a short-term basis. The city/county interests will be represented by Fong, Dangberg, Hahn and arena and stadium consultant Dan Barrett.
In order to qualify for the November ballot, the proposal has to be approved by county supervisors and the ballot language submitted in early August. If the parties don't reach agreement in this time frame, they will have to wait until 2008 before they can place a financing proposal before voters.
"Sacramento is a big city," said Joe Maloof, contacted Sunday in Las Vegas, "and regardless of who owns the team, it needs a new arena. We all have be realistic and find a way.
"It's not just about the Kings and the Monarchs. You're talking about concerts and other events, and having to compete with cities all over the country that have modern facilities and great sound systems and other physical amenities. That's what we're dealing with here. And the longer we wait, the higher constructions cost will go. Copper, steel, they're already astronomical. We just can't wait another two years (for 2008 ballot)."
More quietly, he added, "but I'm more optimistic than I was the other day. Let's just get an agreement and let the people vote on it. We're not trying to hide anything. Once we get this on the ballot, we'll explain everything. People have to trust us."
"They have to look at how we run our business. Ever since we came to Sacramento, we've put a great product on the court. But after all these years of back and forth, we've got to get something done. It's time."