NBA to announce involvement in railyards arena proposal
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The sacbee forums have been a major cesspool since day 1. They'll allow all the naysayers to totally take over a conversation but if anyone steps up and challenges them, it's the challenger whose post disappears.
Let those people pick all the nits they like. They'll benefit from a new entertainment venue just like everyone else; they just need something to grouse about.
I'm so excited...
And the idea of a NEW State Fair, which hopefully will return to looking like an old-fashioned state fair and not like the current abomination of concrete, steel, etc. that was the "EXPO" theme when it was built, really makes me happy. I loved the OLD fairgrounds and have hated Cal Expo since the first day it was opened. I'll be very happy to see it gone.
I think major thanks have to go to Kevin Johnson in this, too, as he has been a breath of fresh air in the whole process. I hope they name a building after him, if for no other reason than to irritate Heather Fargo.
Okay, I know that last part was just mean-spirited, but I don't care.
Let those people pick all the nits they like. They'll benefit from a new entertainment venue just like everyone else; they just need something to grouse about.
I'm so excited...
And the idea of a NEW State Fair, which hopefully will return to looking like an old-fashioned state fair and not like the current abomination of concrete, steel, etc. that was the "EXPO" theme when it was built, really makes me happy. I loved the OLD fairgrounds and have hated Cal Expo since the first day it was opened. I'll be very happy to see it gone.
I think major thanks have to go to Kevin Johnson in this, too, as he has been a breath of fresh air in the whole process. I hope they name a building after him, if for no other reason than to irritate Heather Fargo.
Okay, I know that last part was just mean-spirited, but I don't care.
So Im guessing you were a regular to the old State Fair off Broadway?
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Terms for the average person
I'm sure Brickie could nail it down in a little more detail, but here is my take. While the article mentions nothing about a timeline, I can break down how I think this would work.
The Kings cant move out of Arco until the new arena gets built, so step 1 would be to start demo/construction at the railyards. Once that is completely developed, the kings can move in and Arco/Natomas can be vacated and given to the city for a new fairground. Then construction of the new fairground can begin at Arco. Only once that is complete could the Expo be handed over to the developer for its development.
Why is this time frame important? Several reasons. First, the developer gets to buy the Expo land at current market value; i.e. VERY low. Then the developer gets to hold the property for 6-8 years (this could be negotiated to any time really, the Expo doesn't HAVE to move) before doing any building. By that time the economy will be back, and making a project pencil out is easy to do with undervalued land (which it would be at that time). Secondly, the land could be purchased from the Maloofs by the government using stimulus funds (be it federal or state) without having to ‘pay for an arena’. Thirdly, since the Maloofs are still 70 million in debt on Arco, they would roll that debt in to the land sway (i.e. forgive in exchange for arena construction). This give the Maloofs 70 million plus the land profit of Arco to build a new arena. There will still be lots of costs, but its a HUGE head start.
Basically, the land swap creates a situation where the government will pay for part of the arena, without officially paying for any of the arena. Plus, a new fairgrounds/event center fits right in with what the stimulus is supposed to be for.
Do I like the idea; yes. The railyards always made the most sense. Will it work? That depends on the master developer. They must be private (I am assuming they are, no public building can front costs for that long), and have the big picture in mind. Plus, I am sure they would use bonds to offset the interest lost by the builder during the waiting period.
It makes sense, lets keep our fingers crossed.
I'm sure Brickie could nail it down in a little more detail, but here is my take. While the article mentions nothing about a timeline, I can break down how I think this would work.
The Kings cant move out of Arco until the new arena gets built, so step 1 would be to start demo/construction at the railyards. Once that is completely developed, the kings can move in and Arco/Natomas can be vacated and given to the city for a new fairground. Then construction of the new fairground can begin at Arco. Only once that is complete could the Expo be handed over to the developer for its development.
Why is this time frame important? Several reasons. First, the developer gets to buy the Expo land at current market value; i.e. VERY low. Then the developer gets to hold the property for 6-8 years (this could be negotiated to any time really, the Expo doesn't HAVE to move) before doing any building. By that time the economy will be back, and making a project pencil out is easy to do with undervalued land (which it would be at that time). Secondly, the land could be purchased from the Maloofs by the government using stimulus funds (be it federal or state) without having to ‘pay for an arena’. Thirdly, since the Maloofs are still 70 million in debt on Arco, they would roll that debt in to the land sway (i.e. forgive in exchange for arena construction). This give the Maloofs 70 million plus the land profit of Arco to build a new arena. There will still be lots of costs, but its a HUGE head start.
Basically, the land swap creates a situation where the government will pay for part of the arena, without officially paying for any of the arena. Plus, a new fairgrounds/event center fits right in with what the stimulus is supposed to be for.
Do I like the idea; yes. The railyards always made the most sense. Will it work? That depends on the master developer. They must be private (I am assuming they are, no public building can front costs for that long), and have the big picture in mind. Plus, I am sure they would use bonds to offset the interest lost by the builder during the waiting period.
It makes sense, lets keep our fingers crossed.
There was a lady that called into Kings talk. She was representing the Natomas Chamber of Commerce at the conference tonight. She said that the task force wasn't supposed to make a recommondation until mid march. That this makes a lot of people feel like they wasted their time, by leaning heavily one way.
Natomas thinks they have the best plan at the current site that is "shovel ready" as she put it. And, that they are going to continue to push to get face time with the NBA and the Maloofs.
I just want this proposal that came out today to be the one. And then I will go to the Bee's website...and there will surely be articles and polls along the way about the Arena while it's being built. I'll post pictures of the new Arena being built and say, " You see those pictures?? SCOREBOARD *****!!!"
Natomas thinks they have the best plan at the current site that is "shovel ready" as she put it. And, that they are going to continue to push to get face time with the NBA and the Maloofs.
I just want this proposal that came out today to be the one. And then I will go to the Bee's website...and there will surely be articles and polls along the way about the Arena while it's being built. I'll post pictures of the new Arena being built and say, " You see those pictures?? SCOREBOARD *****!!!"
The only possible error I can see with this timeline: The fairgrounds construction would be a State-owned project, to be built with funds coming from the sale of Cal Expo Authority revenue bonds. So the Natomas land would have to go to the State/CalExpo Authority in exchange for the CalExpo land, before they could build the fair at Natomas.
With or without the arena, I always figured the State Fair was going to be out of commission for at least one year. Maybe they'd find a temporary place for a smaller scale fair until the new one opened. Or maybe they exchange the Cal Expo land, but have a proviso to lease back the site until the new fair could be finished or something.
All I know is I'm friggin' excited by this. Natomas will be a much more suitable site for the State Fair and I think a sports/entertainment arena in an urban setting with rail access will be awesome. It culd be the showpiece of the Railyards. I sure hope they get an awesome architect.
With or without the arena, I always figured the State Fair was going to be out of commission for at least one year. Maybe they'd find a temporary place for a smaller scale fair until the new one opened. Or maybe they exchange the Cal Expo land, but have a proviso to lease back the site until the new fair could be finished or something.
All I know is I'm friggin' excited by this. Natomas will be a much more suitable site for the State Fair and I think a sports/entertainment arena in an urban setting with rail access will be awesome. It culd be the showpiece of the Railyards. I sure hope they get an awesome architect.
As soon as the parties involved say go, I suppose. It could be tomorrow, it could be in a couple of weeks. This is all still very fresh, we're kind of at the "wait for news updates stage."
The Sacramento Bee should be a very interesting read tomorrow.
Edit: Sorry GeorgeofSacramento, I don't mean to dominate the thread and push around everybody's comments, I'm just excited. My eyes hurt, so I'll be off of here soon.
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Yeah me too. I think the Union Pacific Railyard buildings still standing are going to be renovated as part of the big development project. They should use some of that design in the arena and then connect it to Oldtown Sacramento nearby which has the railyard museum thus preserving some of the history and identity of Sacramento while also pushing it forward. That's why the railyards site always seemed like the best place for a new arena to me.
Lots of thoughts here but all in all, this is great news.
Had I known all along that the Maloofs would be willing to put forth $300 million towards the arena, I wouldn't have been on pins and needles. Financing was always the big ???? but this makes things pretty simple. Eliminate the $70 million debt and pay off the $300 million over 30 years. Good deal for everyone involved.
I guess I was a little dissapointed in the 2015 estimated date. That seems like a long time even if the basic infrastructure isn't in place. That means that construction of the actual building won't break ground until 2013. I was thinking that an environmental impact review and other infrastructure needs could be done quicker but I guess not. That's probably the only drawback. When I heard that Natomas is "shovel ready", I guess I was a bit dissapointed that the same couldn't be said for the railyards site. What am I missing regarding construction?
Despite that, this is great. Timeline issues aside, it means that the team stays in the city for the next 30 plus years and to us Kings fans, that's the important thing. I know that the politically correct thing to say is "entertainment center" and "Kings are irrelevant to the argument" but looking at it from OUR perspective, keeping the team is the obvious goal.
Had I known all along that the Maloofs would be willing to put forth $300 million towards the arena, I wouldn't have been on pins and needles. Financing was always the big ???? but this makes things pretty simple. Eliminate the $70 million debt and pay off the $300 million over 30 years. Good deal for everyone involved.
I guess I was a little dissapointed in the 2015 estimated date. That seems like a long time even if the basic infrastructure isn't in place. That means that construction of the actual building won't break ground until 2013. I was thinking that an environmental impact review and other infrastructure needs could be done quicker but I guess not. That's probably the only drawback. When I heard that Natomas is "shovel ready", I guess I was a bit dissapointed that the same couldn't be said for the railyards site. What am I missing regarding construction?
Despite that, this is great. Timeline issues aside, it means that the team stays in the city for the next 30 plus years and to us Kings fans, that's the important thing. I know that the politically correct thing to say is "entertainment center" and "Kings are irrelevant to the argument" but looking at it from OUR perspective, keeping the team is the obvious goal.
Hmmmm....the Maloofs $300 million is committed for a 30-year lease. I'm not sure if that's up front or only partially up front or .
I haven't actually read the details of the proposals, though.
Note: The pictures above posted by Nikefutbolero are not the railyard proposal being talked about. That is one of the other proposals submitted. The proposals not accepted may still be possible backups.
.I haven't actually read the details of the proposals, though.
Note: The pictures above posted by Nikefutbolero are not the railyard proposal being talked about. That is one of the other proposals submitted. The proposals not accepted may still be possible backups.
Lots of thoughts here but all in all, this is great news.
Had I known all along that the Maloofs would be willing to put forth $300 million towards the arena, I wouldn't have been on pins and needles. Financing was always the big ???? but this makes things pretty simple. Eliminate the $70 million debt and pay off the $300 million over 30 years. Good deal for everyone involved.
I guess I was a little dissapointed in the 2015 estimated date. That seems like a long time even if the basic infrastructure isn't in place. That means that construction of the actual building won't break ground until 2013. I was thinking that an environmental impact review and other infrastructure needs could be done quicker but I guess not. That's probably the only drawback. When I heard that Natomas is "shovel ready", I guess I was a bit dissapointed that the same couldn't be said for the railyards site. What am I missing regarding construction?
Despite that, this is great. Timeline issues aside, it means that the team stays in the city for the next 30 plus years and to us Kings fans, that's the important thing. I know that the politically correct thing to say is "entertainment center" and "Kings are irrelevant to the argument" but looking at it from OUR perspective, keeping the team is the obvious goal.
Had I known all along that the Maloofs would be willing to put forth $300 million towards the arena, I wouldn't have been on pins and needles. Financing was always the big ???? but this makes things pretty simple. Eliminate the $70 million debt and pay off the $300 million over 30 years. Good deal for everyone involved.
I guess I was a little dissapointed in the 2015 estimated date. That seems like a long time even if the basic infrastructure isn't in place. That means that construction of the actual building won't break ground until 2013. I was thinking that an environmental impact review and other infrastructure needs could be done quicker but I guess not. That's probably the only drawback. When I heard that Natomas is "shovel ready", I guess I was a bit dissapointed that the same couldn't be said for the railyards site. What am I missing regarding construction?
Despite that, this is great. Timeline issues aside, it means that the team stays in the city for the next 30 plus years and to us Kings fans, that's the important thing. I know that the politically correct thing to say is "entertainment center" and "Kings are irrelevant to the argument" but looking at it from OUR perspective, keeping the team is the obvious goal.
I believe this is the proposed arena. Looks like a transportation terminal, a parking garage, an arena, and a hotel. Cool.
EIRs at the railyard always come back all screwy, doesn't it have asbestos in the dirt? If cleaned up in a feasible manner, then it's just less toxicity seeping into the river. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't know much about environmental impact things.
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