Kings Arena

[Reality]

Jomal,

Sac citizens vote no to arena deal.
Is the Las Vegas rumors just hype to scare Sactownians into voting yes the next time?  Which btw when will be the next vote?

Will you move to Vegas if they do?

[JoMal]

This deal was doomed from the start.

The city made promises to the Maloofs they realistically could not keep, in particular the amount of parking a downtown arena would have available. Revenue from parking apparently is a big item when talking about how much money one of these Entertainment Centers can generate. The Maloofs also were burned pretty bad by many locals as greedy billionaires, and that Carl's Jr. commercial added to that locally.

Actually there is much relief in Sacramento now that Measures Q and R are out of the way. Planning for the next, more logical, arena plan can now be started, and nothing will get to the voters for at least two more years. It now makes sense to build the new arena out in Natomas near the existing Arco Arena, on land the Maloofs already own.

As for moving the team, that could happen, but Vegas would require that all the other casinos take NBA betting off the books, which is unlikely, but you never know....they could get other concessions instead, for instance.

Anaheim, of all places, is high on the list for moving the Kings there, but problems exist in any type of move like that as well, mostly in revenue sharing. The Maloofs want enough money out of any deal to cover the King's annual expensions, which amounts to 130 million and growing, which is why they say they need control of 8,000 parking spaces at the Sacramento arena. The city was putting in 5,000 in the Q and R measures, which the Maloofs would never have agreed to, so this was sleezed into the arena package after a verbal deal had been struck.

So the Maloofs pulled their support of the two measures, dooming them to failure. They also did not want any "competing" businesses built near the new arena as well, such as restaurants and sport bars, or Kings' gift shops. The city had planned for restaurants, at least, right next to the arena site.

I still voted for the measures, though. I would like to see the old, historic downtown Sacramento railyards redeveloped in my lifetime and this would have jumpstarted any development. Now, I don't know. Its been years already and nothing is being built up there, any area I can see from my office window.  

And no, I won't be moving to Vegas. My job is here in SacTown.

[westkoast]

What JoMaL...you don't want a 6,000 combo meal exclusively at The Palms?  (If you haven't heard about it, Google it up, Carls Jr sponsers the Lakers so I hear it every other timeout)

The area around Arco Arena is....spacious and well, not really all that busy.  There is not very much stuff built up around Arco arena.  There are homes, the freeway, a Frys Electronics like 20 seconds away, small food places here and there......but it is not like it is a hub for a BOOMING little area.   I think it is kind of messed up of the Maloofs to want to shoot down competition.  If anything it adds to the atmosphere and nice establishments around the arena make the arena look nicer IMO.  To me they are not being fair to the people by doing that.

When I travel to different states or areas outside of So Cal for work I always make it a point to stop by the arena of the local pro basketball team.  

In Utah their arena is in a busy little area that sort of acts like an anchor to all that is fun inside of SLC.   There is alot of things to do in and around the arena.  If you showed up a few hours early you could walk around and hang out before enterin the arena.

Staples Center is obviously in a busy part of town and now the anchor for an expansion of the area from ghetto to imitation rich with a grip load of new high rise condos going up.  Very visible and an anchor right near down town.

New York, don't really need to go into detail if you guys know anything about MSG.

Dallas is weird in the sense that it is close enough to the big town area but in such a funny location (pinned inbetween railroad tracks and the freeway).  It kind of reminds me of Arco Arena in a way that it is not used as a main attraction for a super busy area.  It is at the start of all the cool buildings and busy down town but not in the heart.

[westkoast]

Philadelphia 76ers player Chris Webber has announced that he will open the first of six family and entertainment-themed restaurants called Center Court with C Webb.

The grand opening will take place Nov. 14 in Sacramento, Calif., and the restaurant will be available to the public the following day.

"I'm happy to be opening what will be an immensely successful and popular restaurant's that families can enjoy together," Webber said in a statement.

In the works for over two years, Webber and Dudum Sports and Entertainment geared the restaurant towards family and fans to provide a dining experience that pays tribute to basketball's greatest heroes.

"I am excited that Chris chose to begin our partnership of unique basketball restaurants in Sacramento, where he spent many successful seasons," sys Jeff Dudum, founder of Dudum Sports and Entertainment.

The restaurant's menu will feature triple-stacked hamburgers, apple cobblers and "dunkable" appetizers courtesy of the restaurant's five-star culinary director, Frank Palmer.

Outside the array of food Center Court plans to offer, the new franchise will also host multiple fundraisers to benefit nonprofits while providing jobs to local communities.

In related news, Webber recently contributed production to Nas' upcoming Def Jam album Hip-Hop Is Dead...The N.

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Is this the type of business the Maloofs were afraid of?

Oh ya, Chris Webber has been a producer in hip hop for along time.  This Nas' album, for those who don't know, is going to be one of the biggest in hip hop of the year.  Chris Webber and Nas are very close friends.