Troubled arena campaign gets $2 million donation
By Dorothy Korber - Bee Staff Writer
Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A1
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/27432.html
Suheil Totah, vice president of development for Thomas Enterprises, announces Thursday the company's $2 million donation to the Yes on Q & R Campaign, which backs the plan to raise the sales tax and revamp the downtown railyard site. Sacramento Bee/ Randy Pench Proponents of a new sports and entertainment center in downtown Sacramento announced a $2 million contribution Thursday, a welcome cash infusion for a campaign that faces some major obstacles -- and dwindling time to overcome them.
The donor is Thomas Enterprises, which hopes to develop the 240-acre railyard site. The cash pledge will underwrite the Yes on Q & R Campaign, the group backing two measures on Sacramento County's Nov. 7 ballot.
If passed, they would create a quarter-cent sales tax increase that over 15 years would generate $1.2 billion. Of that, about $542 million would finance a replacement for Arco Arena, with the rest earmarked for community projects across the county.
Missing from Thursday's press conference was any mention of the Sacramento Kings or their owners, Joe and Gavin Maloof. The Maloofs initially endorsed the sales tax campaign but are now locked in a dispute with the city over parking revenues and other issues.
The Maloofs say they will not support the campaign until they reach a satisfactory agreement with local officials. Without the Maloofs' buy-in -- and their anticipated campaign contribution of $1.5 million -- some political observers wonder if measures Q and R stand a chance.
Tab Berg, a political consultant based in Sacramento, tacked a couple of questions about the arena onto a survey of 300 likely voters he ran earlier this week. The results, with about a six-percentage-point margin of error, showed 62 percent would vote against Measure R -- the tax hike -- with 21 percent for it and 17 percent undecided.
There were different results for Measure Q, an advisory proposal for voters to prioritize how new sales tax revenue should be spent. It says no more than half should go to an arena, with the rest spent on community projects including public safety, after-school programs and the arts.
In Berg's survey, 45 percert opposed Measure Q, 42 percent favored it, and 13 percent were unsure.
Berg, who said he isn't involved in campaigns for or against the measures, believes the arena effort can't be salvaged. He plans to advise his political clients to steer clear of it.
"I don't think they can resurrect this thing," Berg said Thursday. "There are just too many unanswered questions. The Maloofs' waffling is just another nail in the coffin."
The short time frame is also a critical problem, he said: "You can't build community support in a seven-week campaign."
But another political savant, Republican consultant Dan Schnur, believes the trend could be reversed -- if the Kings weigh in with cash.
"They can't pass this without the Maloofs," said Schnur, a Natomas resident and a longtime Kings rooter. "A tax increase is always a tough sell, and it's a lot tougher if you can't point to a likely benefit that is the end result.
"But if the Kings' owners back this campaign with their own dollars, it sends a signal that the Kings are staying in Sacramento. There's the likely benefit. For this campaign, a million dollars from the Maloofs is worth $5 million from Warren Buffett or Paul McCartney or anybody else."
If the Maloofs remain aloof, however, Schnur said it will send the opposite message: "It could mean they've decided to leave town and are sinking their own ballot measure to give them the excuse to do it."
If leaving Sacramento is not the goal, he said, the Maloofs only have so long to step forward: "A week before the election might be too late. The longer they wait, the more they'll have to spend to undo it."
With no Kings in sight, the focus of Thursday's press event was on the overall plan to redevelop the abandoned railyard into an entertainment district of hotels, restaurants, condos, canals, and -- oh, yes -- an 18,000-seat sports arena.
"We have a great opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said Suheil Totah, vice president of development for Thomas Enterprises. "This effort is not about one individual interest -- it is about revitalizing the railyard."
With or without the Maloofs, the measures are on the Nov. 7 ballot and there are excellent reasons to vote for them, said Matt Mahood, president of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
"This has never been about just basketball and the Maloofs," Mahood said Thursday after the press event. "We hope the Kings will come along. But we believe that once people hear and understand the economic impact of this, they will vote for it."
Outside the press conference, two opponents of Measures Q and R handed out their material. They were odd political bedfellows: Bill Magavern of the Sierra Club and John Hrabe of the Young Republican Federation of Sacramento.
Hrabe said he was opposed to the idea of taxpayers footing the bill for an arena for the Kings.
Magavern said the public will see the flaws in the pro-arena argument.
"This is pitched to us as a way to keep the Kings in town, but the Kings can't even agree that it's what they want," Magavern said. "It's a classic David-and-Goliath struggle. Their side has millions of dollars in developer money. Our side has the truth: This is a bad deal that only benefits billionaire businessmen."
By Dorothy Korber - Bee Staff Writer
Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A1
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/27432.html
Suheil Totah, vice president of development for Thomas Enterprises, announces Thursday the company's $2 million donation to the Yes on Q & R Campaign, which backs the plan to raise the sales tax and revamp the downtown railyard site. Sacramento Bee/ Randy Pench Proponents of a new sports and entertainment center in downtown Sacramento announced a $2 million contribution Thursday, a welcome cash infusion for a campaign that faces some major obstacles -- and dwindling time to overcome them.
The donor is Thomas Enterprises, which hopes to develop the 240-acre railyard site. The cash pledge will underwrite the Yes on Q & R Campaign, the group backing two measures on Sacramento County's Nov. 7 ballot.
If passed, they would create a quarter-cent sales tax increase that over 15 years would generate $1.2 billion. Of that, about $542 million would finance a replacement for Arco Arena, with the rest earmarked for community projects across the county.
Missing from Thursday's press conference was any mention of the Sacramento Kings or their owners, Joe and Gavin Maloof. The Maloofs initially endorsed the sales tax campaign but are now locked in a dispute with the city over parking revenues and other issues.
The Maloofs say they will not support the campaign until they reach a satisfactory agreement with local officials. Without the Maloofs' buy-in -- and their anticipated campaign contribution of $1.5 million -- some political observers wonder if measures Q and R stand a chance.
Tab Berg, a political consultant based in Sacramento, tacked a couple of questions about the arena onto a survey of 300 likely voters he ran earlier this week. The results, with about a six-percentage-point margin of error, showed 62 percent would vote against Measure R -- the tax hike -- with 21 percent for it and 17 percent undecided.
There were different results for Measure Q, an advisory proposal for voters to prioritize how new sales tax revenue should be spent. It says no more than half should go to an arena, with the rest spent on community projects including public safety, after-school programs and the arts.
In Berg's survey, 45 percert opposed Measure Q, 42 percent favored it, and 13 percent were unsure.
Berg, who said he isn't involved in campaigns for or against the measures, believes the arena effort can't be salvaged. He plans to advise his political clients to steer clear of it.
"I don't think they can resurrect this thing," Berg said Thursday. "There are just too many unanswered questions. The Maloofs' waffling is just another nail in the coffin."
The short time frame is also a critical problem, he said: "You can't build community support in a seven-week campaign."
But another political savant, Republican consultant Dan Schnur, believes the trend could be reversed -- if the Kings weigh in with cash.
"They can't pass this without the Maloofs," said Schnur, a Natomas resident and a longtime Kings rooter. "A tax increase is always a tough sell, and it's a lot tougher if you can't point to a likely benefit that is the end result.
"But if the Kings' owners back this campaign with their own dollars, it sends a signal that the Kings are staying in Sacramento. There's the likely benefit. For this campaign, a million dollars from the Maloofs is worth $5 million from Warren Buffett or Paul McCartney or anybody else."
If the Maloofs remain aloof, however, Schnur said it will send the opposite message: "It could mean they've decided to leave town and are sinking their own ballot measure to give them the excuse to do it."
If leaving Sacramento is not the goal, he said, the Maloofs only have so long to step forward: "A week before the election might be too late. The longer they wait, the more they'll have to spend to undo it."
With no Kings in sight, the focus of Thursday's press event was on the overall plan to redevelop the abandoned railyard into an entertainment district of hotels, restaurants, condos, canals, and -- oh, yes -- an 18,000-seat sports arena.
"We have a great opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said Suheil Totah, vice president of development for Thomas Enterprises. "This effort is not about one individual interest -- it is about revitalizing the railyard."
With or without the Maloofs, the measures are on the Nov. 7 ballot and there are excellent reasons to vote for them, said Matt Mahood, president of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
"This has never been about just basketball and the Maloofs," Mahood said Thursday after the press event. "We hope the Kings will come along. But we believe that once people hear and understand the economic impact of this, they will vote for it."
Outside the press conference, two opponents of Measures Q and R handed out their material. They were odd political bedfellows: Bill Magavern of the Sierra Club and John Hrabe of the Young Republican Federation of Sacramento.
Hrabe said he was opposed to the idea of taxpayers footing the bill for an arena for the Kings.
Magavern said the public will see the flaws in the pro-arena argument.
"This is pitched to us as a way to keep the Kings in town, but the Kings can't even agree that it's what they want," Magavern said. "It's a classic David-and-Goliath struggle. Their side has millions of dollars in developer money. Our side has the truth: This is a bad deal that only benefits billionaire businessmen."
But Alex Spanos well known in the region and has done a lot for the area. I would bet if he owned the Kings, Q & R would pass easily. It would be interesting to see if he had given nearly 12 million to local charities over the last 8 years.
