Using a model from another area to do something here is answering the ancient question, “How do you know it will work?”.
In this case it is the new arena for the Kings currently under discussion, again; but it is also the method we have suggested for how to manage the Parkway, by looking to the examples, successful ones, of a public/private partnership managing a public resource.
The successful models range from the Central Park Conservancy in New York to the Sacramento Zoological Society (who manages the Sacramento Zoo) here.
The point being, it helps to answer that key question…"How do you know it will work?” ...before you embark on a new plan.
An excerpt.
Center court for Memphis
As talks on a new Sacramento arena inch ahead, those involved are looking at a Southern city's facility as a model
By Mary Lynne Vellinga -- Bee Staff Writer Published 12:01 am PDT Friday, July 14, 2006
NBA fans attending a game in Memphis, Tenn., can stretch out their legs a bit farther than their counterparts in Sacramento. They sit on cushioned seats, not hard plastic. They can see the court better.
Those buying more expensive tickets gain access to private "club level" restaurants. Some get to set their drinks on granite countertops in front of executive-style chairs.
These are some of the attributes that drew a delegation from Sacramento to Memphis last Friday to check out FedExForum. Completed in 2004 for $250 million, the Memphis arena is one of the two newest in the National Basketball Association.
As Sacramento city and county leaders struggle to put together a viable plan to replace Arco Arena, they're looking to Memphis as a model of what a modern arena should offer.
"Memphis was suggested by the Maloof Sports and Entertainment as an example of what they wanted in Sacramento," Sacramento Assistant City Manager John Dangberg said in an e-mail Wednesday. He added: "Memphis has elements we collectively like that could be incorporated into a Sacramento facility."
