With big windows on the upper decks facing south, the American River parkway would be a great view as would the horizon overlooking midtown and downtown.
Arena plan excites officials, fans at crumbling Cal Expo
By Todd Milbourn - tmilbourn@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, May 11, 2008
The water pipes at Cal Expo are deteriorating. The sewer system is outdated. Fewer people are showing up at the horse track.
California's state fairground – once envisioned as a "Disneyland of the North" – is starting to resemble a concrete wasteland when the fair isn't under way.
So it's easy to understand why Brian May, a Cal Expo executive, was so excited about the news he received Friday: Negotiators for Cal Expo and the NBA have agreed to move ahead on plans to build a Sacramento Kings basketball arena at the fairground.
Not only would that mean renewed prominence for 40-year-old Cal Expo, but an infusion of cash to help pay for $40 million in needed repairs. It's enough to make the potential traffic headaches tolerable.
"This is just a great opportunity to modernize and redevelop," May said Saturday. "We hear a lot from people we do business with that our facilities are starting to look tired, and they're not meeting their needs."
The Kings are still years away from a new arena – wherever it ends up, if anywhere in Sacramento at all.
For now, the NBA and Cal Expo plan to spend the next 180 days hammering out a development plan that would accommodate both an arena and a revamped fairground.
Developers will submit proposals for turning the 360-acre fairground into a mixed-use and entertainment district.
