The airport isn't and never was the issue. Any report in regards to that was just noise. Also, Sac area has a ton of private airports for private planes. McClellan, Sac Executive, Mather, Lincoln, just to name a few off the top of my head.
It's the hotels. Period. We probably need a couple thousand more (rooms) of higher-end hotel options near the arena. That is maybe 6-8 more hotels. I don't see it happening, because they will be empty most of the year.