Sacramento - New Arena Plan

[snfenoc]

^
Well, remember that LA has two NBA teams, a MLB team and a NHL team (not to mention numerous minor league-style teams) to entertain the public. Plus, thirty minutes to the south there are three major teams: the Angels, the Ducks and the Kings (just kidding on the last one).
I just think it is kind of funny that Stockton can get an arena built (and it is looker too - kudos to the architect); yet Sacramento cannot. Maybe we should be living in the shadow of Stockton?


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I was talking to my grandmother the other day:
Somehow we started talking about Sacramento development, and she said she hopes much of the development for DT and the West Sac waterfront fails. When I mentioned the arena issue, she was quite cold to that idea. I was aghast. So I asked why. She responded by complaining about traffic problems.
(Now, I may be wrong, but shouldn't big cities have big traffic?) When I told my grandmother that Sacramento is growing and traffic should be expected, she said it is a shame Sacramento is growing and she wished it would go back to the way it was. I guess I understand her dismay. My grandparents live in West Sac on Jefferson Blvd.; I think watching that area sprout houses and shopping centers is a bit too much for them (dementia anyone?). My grandmother always mentions, with great sadness, how the trees in her front yard were cut down (Majin alert! Majin alert! Majin alert!) when Jefferson was widened. (Really, my grandparents should not be too annoyed with all of the growth, they will become multimillionaires when they sell off most of the land they own in about a month)
What I found interesting about the conversation was my grandmother's small-town attitude. Unfortunately, there are many more people like her. Right now, they are winning the day when it comes to building a new arena. Fortunately, the small-town thinkers are the minority - a very vocal minority. So let's follow enigma's lead and send out those letters and e-mails. Remember, having a well-developed (i.e., lots of towers, stores, restaurants, residences and a modern arena) anchor city is a regional issue, so don't forget the surrounding counties and cities.

[enigma99a]

Yep.... we should email them in great numbers. And you're right. They are a very vocal minority... But at the end of the day if 8 / 10 emails are against the Arena, what do you think they will believe?

[cascraperdude]

Two reasons (at least) Stockton got its arena built where we cannot:

1. It cost orders of magnitude less than the one we need

2. When a city takes something for granted, it doesn't want to pay. Stockton is trying to expand into new sports territory, whereas Sacramento would be paying to maintain the one sport we already have.

[What is a Rivercat?]

As big a dump as Arco is, Trans Siberian Orchestra rocked the Christmas shizznit out of the ol' barn last night.

[urban_encounter]

I sent an email to the members of the Sacramento City council and Board of Supervisors. However I think it's a waste of time to lobby the smaller municipalities.

I still think a city/county hotel and rental car tax that may be more palatable to the electorate would be the best course of action. Such a tax could be moved through the council and board without voter approval. Trading open space for an arena is a bad idea imho. We can do this without adding more sprawl.

One thing about it, if people don't start making their voices known, then the opposition which seems to scream the loudest, will win.

[innov8]

From the December 2, 2005 print edition

Developer sweetens land-for-arena deal
He offers 70% of east-county holdings

Mike McCarthy and Kelly Johnson

Sacramento developer Angelo K. Tsakopoulos says he's willing to donate about 70 percent of his east Sacramento County land for public uses, including a 3,500-acre multi-university complex "like Oxford" and a new Kings' arena.

In return, he would want local governments to approve the rest of his land in the area for development, a condition guaranteed to make the pitch controversial.

The offer to donate 70 percent, which he told to the Business Journal Wednesday afternoon, resembles his previous proposals to donate proceeds from land development in Natomas to pay for a new arena and support local arts. Those plans foundered because too many other Natomas landowners didn't buy in.

This time, he told KFBK talk-show host Tom Sullivan on the air Wednesday, all his partners on the deal have signed agreements to go along.

Tsakopoulos and partners own about 7,000 acres between Folsom and Rancho Murieta east of Sacramento County's urban services boundary, or growth limit.

Offering 70 percent of it -- the phrase he told the Journal was five-sevenths -- means some 5,000 acres would be set aside for public uses. The multi-university campus would be 3,500 acres, he said.

"First we need to see if the Maloof family is willing to work with us," he said. "Then we'll go together to the community."

The Maloofs are the majority owners of the Sacramento Kings NBA basketball team. If the Kings left town -- a possibility given the inability of the team or the area to pay for a new arena, despite several attempts this decade -- the land could be used for another team.

"We already have the best fan base in America," Tsakopoulos said. "If we have a quality arena, we'll have a quality team even if the Maloofs don't want to stay."

The arena would be financed by rezoning and developing about 2,000 acres of the 5,000 donated for public uses, said Mark Enes, Tsakopoulos' chief financial officer.

The sales could generate about $1 billion -- $400 million for the new arena and the rest for charities, he said.

Tsakopoulos told Sullivan that his arena plan would require no public funds, and said a nonprofit would own the arena. He also said the land in question is the "poorest of the poor" for agriculture, is "right next to development, like North Natomas was," and would be developed anyway.

The land would today probably sell for $5,000 an acre with the current agricultural zoning, and for $150,000 or more per acre if approved for housing, said Dave Jarrette, a partner in the appraisal firm of Giannelli & Jarrette LLC.

County policy says no

Also to be worked out is how the balance of the public land would be used, Tsakopoulos said.

He has been buying land in the east area for years, partly because the county's 1980s study of the path of growth suggested it would be a logical spot for urbanization.

In the early 1990s, however, the county cut the area out of its future development plans. Current county policy bans development in the area, a point county officials have emphasized repeatedly.

Environmentalists oppose developing the area. The only break in that picture, for Tsakopoulos, came when Folsom decided to expand southward, adding more than 3,000 acres it can annex. Tsakopoulos owns or controls much of it.

Tsakopoulos, who became one of the region's wealthiest people by developing land for new homes, also said the region needs more universities, a theme he has championed before in Placer County development proposals.

Efforts to replace Arco keep returning

The Kings' current home, Arco Arena, is outdated by pro basketball standards. It opened in 1988. With 30 suites and 358 club seats, it lacks many of the dazzling revenue-raising features of newer venues.

In Greater Sacramento, various arena financing plans have been proposed and rejected this decade over such issues as cost, location and public subsidies. One proposal would have built a new arena downtown.

But efforts continue, spurred by the belief that losing its only major pro sports team would hurt Sacramento's reputation. Every so often a new proposal to pay for an arena surfaces. Variations of Tsakopoulos' newest idea have fueled reports in the major Sacramento media this week.

The failures to reach an arena deal have inspired predictions that the Kings will leave if the team doesn't get a new arena in or near Sacramento. Anaheim and Las Vegas are commonly mentioned as prospects, although legalized gambling would complicate a move to the Nevada city.

The Maloof family owns the Palms Casino Hotel in Las Vegas, giving the family a strong financial tie to the city.

In the summer of 2004, Joe Maloof predicted that the NBA would no longer approve Arco within five years. At the time, he also said Maloof Sports & Entertainment wouldn't pay more than 20 percent of the cost of a new arena.

A 2003 arena study by Turnkey Sports, paid for by the Kings, the city of Sacramento and others, found that team owners typically contributed 20 percent of the cost for recent U.S. arena projects. In some cases, the public paid the full cost.

For the most part, the Maloofs have refused to publicly discuss the various efforts to build a new arena in any detail.

The Maloofs have said they've been willing to work with various local interests, including Tsakopoulos, to arrange a deal

© 2005 American City Business Journals Inc.

[creamcityleo79]

I say let Tsakopoulos build the Parthenon and have his way with the arena. The man obviously cares about Sacramento!

[innov8]

No kidding... a tower for him and a new arena for the people.
Please, please, please city and county officials don’t botch this one :fc:

[enigma99a]

I wonder what kind of timeline for the rezoning, as well as when the 400M could start flowing in. With that, we can get an idea for the construction timeline.

I'm going to say this now... If the city and county fucks this plan up, the Arena will never get built.

[joninsac]

Luckily for us, the city won't get the chance to fuck this up, because the land in question is between Folsom and Rancho Murieta. This is all on the county this time, and early indications aren't positive.

[SactownRob]

Originally Posted by neuhickman79

I say let Tsakopoulos build the Parthenon and have his way with the arena. The man obviously cares about Sacramento!

Actually, it's two different Angelo's. Arena Angelo (middle intial K) is the patriarch developer. Parthenon Angelo (middle initial G), I believe, is his nephew, and also a developer, but not in the same league.

[What is a Rivercat?]

Zeus bless the Tsakopouli!

[enigma99a]

Now is time to flood the Sacramento Co with emails!!

[urban_encounter]

I sent mine. However, unless people from across the region are doing it, they wont take notice.

[enigma99a]

Maybe the effort would be easier if we started a petition to approve the plan at http://www.petitiononline.com

Then, post to local websites that people use so they can sign it. One or two emails might not make a difference but a petition presented with 2,000 signatures would carry some clout.

[enigma99a]

^ I have to leave for a few hours, but if nobody makes one when I get back, I will....

[bennywah]

why dont they propose putting the arena in west sacramento since they seem to be able to get things done better than the city of sac, maybe the raleys good help get a new arena built if good ol Angelo cant!!

[urban_encounter]

Originally Posted by bennywah

why dont they propose putting the arena in west sacramento since they seem to be able to get things done better than the city of sac, maybe the raleys good help get a new arena built if good ol Angelo cant!!

West Sacramneto was only able to get Raley Field built because Sacramento County bankrolled about 80% of the project, if memory serves me correctly.


But your point still isn't lost, as West Sacramento still has a first class triple A ballpark. Across the river, the city and county of Sacramento sits on their hands, while our only professional sports franchise prepares to bolt town.

[urban_encounter]

Dear Mr. (urban_encounter)



Supervisor Peters received your email and asked me to reply on her behalf to say thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts on a new arena for the Kings. I know she is in agreement about the value of major league sports to the community as well as having a well maintained and functioning arena for our region. Leadership is needed on this issue from all sides, including the ownership of the Kings. Through innovation and teamwork among all the interested parties, hopefully a result can be crafted to everyone's satisfaction. Again, Supervisor Peters recognizes the importance of what is at stake and appreciated hearing from you.



Howard Schmidt

Chief of Staff to County Supervisor Susan Peters

District 3, Sacramento County

[Majin]

They totally have the wrong idea about the way to go about this, and this is why we are going to hear an anouncement of the Kings relocation within the next 6 months, most likely sooner.

You cant please everybody, just do what you need to do to get it done, weather that be ED, taxes, rezoning for development for tsakapolos, whatever, just get it done and let people bitch. If they dont like it, tell them dont let the door him them on the ass on the way out when they leave for idaho or where ever the fuck they want to live it.

This city need stop letting the small town nimbys run the show. I got news for you, this region is 2 million+ and growing fast... how about we actually start having the cutural amminities of a 2 million+ region instead of a 200k region.