http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/2420323.html
Sacramento arena task force officials announced they had received seven responses by a Christmas Eve deadline for proposals to build a new sports and entertainment center.
"It's very exciting," project task force co-chair Chris Lehane said Thursday night. "Santa Claus came early."
Just how many of the plans will turn out to be feasible in a tough economy remains to be seen.
Lehane said Mayor Kevin Johnson's "Sacramento First" task force, made up of 12 community volunteers, will publish general outlines of the proposals next week, and will make the full proposals public at a Jan. 14 open house.
Several proposals involve downtown sites, including the downtown railyard, Lehane said.
Besides the seven proposals, the task force will consider renovating existing Arco Arena, as some suggested at recent hearings, Lehane said.
The task force also will review an existing proposal for an arena at Cal Expo, which is under discussion with state and National Basketball Association officials.
Johnson has asked the task force to review proposals, study how arenas have been built in other cities, and submit an arena plan to him by March 11.
Johnson said his efforts to build an arena are not only about keeping the Kings in town, but also stem from his desire for Sacramento to have a better multi-purpose entertainment venue than aging Arco.
"It's not about basketball," Johnson said in launching the effort. "It's not about the Kings. It's about what we want in our community."
Kings owners and NBA officials have been pushing for several years for a new arena, saying they need a modern facility to compete in the high-finance world of professional sports.
The effort has so far come to naught. In 2006, Sacramento voters overwhelmingly rejected a ballot proposal for a sales tax to subsidize a new arena.
Since then, NBA officials have been working with state officials at Cal Expo on a plan to remodel the fairgrounds and build an arena, but those plans have been stymied in the last year by the economic downturn.
After talking with the Kings and NBA officials, Johnson this fall launched his own fast-track effort for a sports and entertainment complex, saying he wants an arena plan by spring.
Pushing the pace, Johnson six weeks ago requested that interested parties submit detailed proposals by Christmas Eve. Each proposal, he said, must include a description of the development team, what they propose, how it will be designed, how transportation in the project area will be handled, when it will be built, and how it will be financed.
The tight time frame left some local developers on the sidelines. But task force co-chair Lehane said Thursday he was pleased by the number of submittals.
"It shows there is a seriousness of purpose in how developers and other entities are approaching this," Lehane said.
Johnson did not respond to The Bee's requests for comment.
Several people contacted by The Bee said submitters had been asked by the task force not to publicly discuss their proposals yet.
Earlier, downtown railyard owner Thomas Enterprises said it would submit a proposal for its site. Company official Suheil Totah said an arena would fit nicely with his firm's efforts to redevelop the largely vacant 240-acre railyard site in the northwest corner of downtown.
"We're excited about it," Totah said. "We think it will be a catalyst."
The mayor has not stated where he would prefer an arena.
Some City Hall officials have said they believe downtown, notably the railyard, is a better site than the current Arco site in North Natomas.
One member of the mayor's task force, architect Dan Meis, designer of the Staples Center in Los Angeles, called Arco "a big shed in a parking lot," and said arenas now are built as part of an urban development district with stores, restaurants, businesses, public plazas, and housing around the facility.
A number of Kings fans argue that Arco, adjacent to two major freeways, remains their preferred site.
"It's very exciting," project task force co-chair Chris Lehane said Thursday night. "Santa Claus came early."
Just how many of the plans will turn out to be feasible in a tough economy remains to be seen.
Lehane said Mayor Kevin Johnson's "Sacramento First" task force, made up of 12 community volunteers, will publish general outlines of the proposals next week, and will make the full proposals public at a Jan. 14 open house.
Several proposals involve downtown sites, including the downtown railyard, Lehane said.
Besides the seven proposals, the task force will consider renovating existing Arco Arena, as some suggested at recent hearings, Lehane said.
The task force also will review an existing proposal for an arena at Cal Expo, which is under discussion with state and National Basketball Association officials.
Johnson has asked the task force to review proposals, study how arenas have been built in other cities, and submit an arena plan to him by March 11.
Johnson said his efforts to build an arena are not only about keeping the Kings in town, but also stem from his desire for Sacramento to have a better multi-purpose entertainment venue than aging Arco.
"It's not about basketball," Johnson said in launching the effort. "It's not about the Kings. It's about what we want in our community."
Kings owners and NBA officials have been pushing for several years for a new arena, saying they need a modern facility to compete in the high-finance world of professional sports.
The effort has so far come to naught. In 2006, Sacramento voters overwhelmingly rejected a ballot proposal for a sales tax to subsidize a new arena.
Since then, NBA officials have been working with state officials at Cal Expo on a plan to remodel the fairgrounds and build an arena, but those plans have been stymied in the last year by the economic downturn.
After talking with the Kings and NBA officials, Johnson this fall launched his own fast-track effort for a sports and entertainment complex, saying he wants an arena plan by spring.
Pushing the pace, Johnson six weeks ago requested that interested parties submit detailed proposals by Christmas Eve. Each proposal, he said, must include a description of the development team, what they propose, how it will be designed, how transportation in the project area will be handled, when it will be built, and how it will be financed.
The tight time frame left some local developers on the sidelines. But task force co-chair Lehane said Thursday he was pleased by the number of submittals.
"It shows there is a seriousness of purpose in how developers and other entities are approaching this," Lehane said.
Johnson did not respond to The Bee's requests for comment.
Several people contacted by The Bee said submitters had been asked by the task force not to publicly discuss their proposals yet.
Earlier, downtown railyard owner Thomas Enterprises said it would submit a proposal for its site. Company official Suheil Totah said an arena would fit nicely with his firm's efforts to redevelop the largely vacant 240-acre railyard site in the northwest corner of downtown.
"We're excited about it," Totah said. "We think it will be a catalyst."
The mayor has not stated where he would prefer an arena.
Some City Hall officials have said they believe downtown, notably the railyard, is a better site than the current Arco site in North Natomas.
One member of the mayor's task force, architect Dan Meis, designer of the Staples Center in Los Angeles, called Arco "a big shed in a parking lot," and said arenas now are built as part of an urban development district with stores, restaurants, businesses, public plazas, and housing around the facility.
A number of Kings fans argue that Arco, adjacent to two major freeways, remains their preferred site.
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