This is one of the most visionary ideas Sacramento has seen and, once the traffic and costs get worked out, will rejuvenate a rather sleepy area of our city that can become a real jewel along the American River Parkway.
NBA, Cal Expo agree to move ahead on Kings arena
By Mary Lynne Vellinga - mlvellinga@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PDT Saturday, May 10, 2008
Negotiators for the National Basketball Association and Cal Expo on Friday announced they have agreed to move forward jointly on a plan to build a Kings arena in the state fairgrounds.
According to a letter of understanding, which still must be approved by the Cal Expo board of directors, the two sides will spend the next 180 days working on a development plan that would accommodate both an arena and a revamped fairgrounds.
They plan to ask developers to submit proposals for turning the 360-acre fairgrounds into a mixed-use and entertainment development.
Cal Expo's board is scheduled to consider the letter at its May 21 meeting. Both NBA Commissioner David Stern and former Gov. Pete Wilson, the lead negotiator for Cal Expo, plan to attend.
The board also will decide whether to retain Wilson's law firm, Bingham McCutchen, to continue working on its behalf.
The Maloofs, who own the Kings, are scheduled to be briefed by phone next week on the progress of talks, said spokeswoman Donna Lucas. "They continue to be very supportive and appreciative of the work the commissioner and the NBA have been doing on the issue," she said.
Stern said in a phone interview Friday that the Maloofs, while not involved in the talks, have paid for expenses incurred by the NBA for consultants and studies, and will continue to do so.
"They've said, 'Do what it takes; spend what you need. Let's give everything we can to make this work in Sacramento,'" Stern said. "They couldn't be better. They want this to work."
Stern took over the arena effort in December 2006 after earlier attempts involving the Maloofs and city and county officials collapsed in bitterness and recrimination.
The Kings owners walked away from the last serious proposal to build a new arena, in 2006. That effort would have involved raising the sales tax countywide to pay for an arena in the shuttered downtown railyard. Without the Maloofs' support, voters trounced the plan.
The agreement announced Friday is not legally binding, but representatives of both the NBA and Cal Expo said it represents a significant step forward. They also cautioned that major challenges lie ahead.
"We wouldn't be doing it if we didn't think there was a more than fair chance it could be done, but recognizing that it's not a slam dunk," Stern said.
Negotiators for both sides said they were confident enough that they could come up with a mutually acceptable development proposal to move to the next step: crafting an actual plan, and looking for a developer to design and build it.
