KJ Press Conference
- Thread starter Section 101
- Start date
Unless KJ is a dumb politician or knows Kings are definitely moving he should not be dissing the Maloof's, IMO. The city council has had a freaking decade to get something done as far as a new Sports & Entertainment facility. The city leaders (if you can call them leaders) have been and are the biggest problem - not the Maloof's.
I don't like the idea of kissing The Maloof's asses. KJ needs to be stern and let them know that he's behind them and an arean but that they need to keep him informed. As for blaming the council for the last 10 years, that's not very accurate or productive. it's not the council's fault that the tax increase proposal was rejected by the voters and that years was wasted on the convergence plan. The council isn't without blame here but to try and lay all he blame at their doorstep is just not accurate.
I think it would have been couteous to at least call KJ ahead of time. He's been working hard trying to get something done and is totally supportive of keeping the team here.
On the other hand, the Maloofs and Daivd Stern made it pretty clear after the Cal Expo deal fell through that they were done waiting, done talking to or negotiating with the city and more than done with spending tons of the Maloof money on reports and consultants. The NBA spent two yearsa on that plan and the Maloofs spent a few million for nothing.
The city has had 14 freakin' years to do something. I'm mad at the people of Sacramento and the media who have totally alienated the Maloofs and the league with their slowness, their misleading information and their ineptness.
On the other hand, the Maloofs and Daivd Stern made it pretty clear after the Cal Expo deal fell through that they were done waiting, done talking to or negotiating with the city and more than done with spending tons of the Maloof money on reports and consultants. The NBA spent two yearsa on that plan and the Maloofs spent a few million for nothing.
The city has had 14 freakin' years to do something. I'm mad at the people of Sacramento and the media who have totally alienated the Maloofs and the league with their slowness, their misleading information and their ineptness.
The NBA got behind the cal expo land swap knowing it was going to fail. Then the maloof did everything they could to torpedo it. So dont make it sound like its all the cities fault.
KJ has not been in office for 14 years. He has done everything short of kissing the maloofs arse. Dont blame him one bit for being pissed at the maloofs.
KJ has not been in office for 14 years. He has done everything short of kissing the maloofs arse. Dont blame him one bit for being pissed at the maloofs.
No one is blaming KJ! In fact in the past 14 years he has been the one most pro active on the front of getting a new Arena. This is not taking pot shots at KJ. The issue is far greater. If it was up to KJ, we would already have the arena but unfortunately it is NOT up to him. Its others that are preventing movement on this issue.
Whos preventing us from moving forward on this most recent proposal? The maloofs! Thats why KJ is really pissed. The maloofs are blowing smoke up our arse. Be man enuff to tell us it over. The anaheim deal isnt done yet so theyre stalli g and hopi g to squeeze out whatevers left they can get out of kings fans this season.
The taylor group is still waiting to hear from the maloofs. How longs it been since the taylor group was picked?
The taylor group is still waiting to hear from the maloofs. How longs it been since the taylor group was picked?
It definitely is not KJ's fault this didn't get done, frankly I am glad he's upset though. Past mayors and council members would have gone and packed the team's bags. Not calling KJ was a classless move by the Maloofs. I sympathize with them and wouldn't have blamed them if they left a year or two ago. They've invested and lost money trying to get this project done, they really don't have any obligation to sink more resources in at this point until a deal is ready to be struck and move forward. But a phone call and a few minutes of time is not much to ask either.
Reminds me a tad of the Rick Adelman situation when Phil Jackson was available. Adn reports started leaking that the Maloofs were talking to Jackson, and Rick said, no, they would never do that, they've been good to me and we've had a good professional relationship. And then it comes out that the Maloofs had in fact been meeting with Phil. And Rick was PISSED.
I was listening to Grant rant on the radio on the way home, he was saying that people are ignorant for not being informed about how much the Maloofs have tried to get an arena built. Could someone on here tell me the average lifespan of an arena in the NBA? Is it 15 years, 20 years, 25 years? If Arco opened in 1988 and the maloofs have been trying for ten years to get a new arena built, then that means that Arco was only like 13 years old when they started their push for a new arena. I am all for a new arena and would hate it if the Kings leave, but I don't think there has really been good education presented to people about why a building that is 13 years old needs to be replaced. If they do build a new arena and get it done by say 2013 are they going to ask for another new arena in 2026? Raley Field was opened in 2000 does that mean that the owneers of the Rivercats can expect for tax payers to want to pay for a new baseball field in 3 years? I understand that I do not know what I am talking about, but I can see why other people have a hard time when they keep hearing that the maloofs are tired of waiting. If the average lifespan of an arena is 25 years and we are now at 28 years or 30 years then it makes sense. I just think there has been a lack of education presented to the people by the Maloofs and the City. Alright I am going to shutup now, I am just frustrated!!!
The problem with Arco is that it was built on the cheap so in essence, it really only has a 15 year life span. For $40 million, I'm surprised it's lasted as long as it has.
OTOH, most arenas are built with at least a 30 year life span. NBA arenas in Chicago and Cleveland are in their 17th year of existence and nobody has even made a peep about the possibility of having new buildings. I see those buildings lasting another 20 years at least.
That's part of the reason why the Maloofs want to go to Anaheim. It's in it's 18th year of existence but was built right and will last another 15 years. For all we know, they won't want to own the team that far into the future and they will be ready to sell as soon as that building is done with.
OTOH, most arenas are built with at least a 30 year life span. NBA arenas in Chicago and Cleveland are in their 17th year of existence and nobody has even made a peep about the possibility of having new buildings. I see those buildings lasting another 20 years at least.
That's part of the reason why the Maloofs want to go to Anaheim. It's in it's 18th year of existence but was built right and will last another 15 years. For all we know, they won't want to own the team that far into the future and they will be ready to sell as soon as that building is done with.
Every arena is different. Arco was built in a hurry and barely up to normal NBA standards. It was assumed it would have a relatively short shelf life (around 15-20 yrs) and especially because as it got older it was no longer able to be revamped. The Maloof's signaled early on (taking Kings ownership in 1999) that they would like to get a new arena (even owner Thomas before them mentioned the goal in 1997) but Joe and Gavin only really got going on in force around 2003 always knowing that even if funding was secured it would still be at least another 3 years of construction before a new facility opened. Interestingly, Raley Field which by all accounts should been built here and not in Yolo County was constructed in such a way to allow for remodeling and expansion if needed.
Two of the biggest problems I can think of are that it was built completely on the cheap from the get go with little or no thought of future expansion and that it was built just prior to the ADA, among other building standards that were adopted in the past two decades that just can't be met. Then you've got the luxury standards of current arenas - a mall full of restaurants, stacked luxury boxes, all kinds of accoutrements that greatly enhance the profitability of nightly operations that just can't be put into an arena of Arco's size. Even if you could squish some of that in there there just isn't the right amount of loading docks and entrance points.
Today's arenas should last 30-50 years unless an entirely new trend swoops in and redefines the expectations. That's the advantage we could have had if we built 10 years ago. An arena like AAC in Dallas built state of the art 10 years ago will probably be good for as long as whatever we build now is good for.
Today's arenas should last 30-50 years unless an entirely new trend swoops in and redefines the expectations. That's the advantage we could have had if we built 10 years ago. An arena like AAC in Dallas built state of the art 10 years ago will probably be good for as long as whatever we build now is good for.
They need all those luxury boxes with all the GM, Ford, Chrysler/Dodge and tons of other big corporate interests in Detroit. Sacramento as zero in the city limits unless you want to count Blue Diamond Almonds. Heck, I think MSE with around 1,000 FT and PT employees in the largest private employer in Cowtown.
Still it was considered crazy at the time the arena was built, of course the people of Detroit and Michigan seem to have always had a strange obsession with breaking attendance records and that type of feat. I don't believe MSG, Staples or AAC even have that many.
Apparently they even built underground suites in the Palace. I am kind of curious about that. You pay half a mil per year to watch games on closed circuit?
Apparently they even built underground suites in the Palace. I am kind of curious about that. You pay half a mil per year to watch games on closed circuit?
I had the same opionion on lamenting why Arco was built on the cheap. But then I put myself in Gregg Lukenbill's shoes and can see why it worked out that way. For one thing, Gregg was as fed up with the city leaders as any of us and more. He was a developer who knew how projects work in Sacramento. He knew he would never get the city to build an arena even if he went out and bought a team - which he and his partners did. The next step was to get them a temporary place to play and do it in short order. Thus came about Arco I and the very intimate college atmosphere. It was like he invented lightning when he found out that small and plywood stands made for one hell of a noisy arena. Then came along the '85 powerhouse Boston Celtics into Arco. The fans won that game and every Celtic marveled at what the Kings had going. That sealed the deal that Arco II would be intimate and made of plywood stands. It also so happened that was pretty inexpensive way to build the facility. And bless his heart, Gregg was not a billionaire who was going to pay through the nose to build state of the art when he knew what really made for a good game. And without public help to build Arco II, it was going to have to be on the cheap and yet an amazing basketball first facility. He did have his side fantasy with bring MLB here and probably should have invested the money for that in plussing Arco II, but he was an ambitious man and thought he had both covered.
All this added up to a wonderful facility for watching the Kings. That was all Gregg cared about. Then reality hit him and he realized that he financed the heck out of this arena and had little operating capitol left to afford the skyrocketing NBA salaries. So he sold to a man who he thought could be a caretaker of the team and take it to the next level. Sadly Jim Thomas didn't realize that he could keep up with the skyrocketing salaries either without a facility that generated more revenue. The loan was requested and everyone pretty much knows the story from there.
So the public support got a free ride on the private finance bandwagon and the different Kings owners got a ride to the poor house trying to make a private building work. Private is nice, but it works in downtown LA or NY - not in Sacramento or any other city. So in a sense, it was always going to end like this where the public support was needed to keep the team.
All this added up to a wonderful facility for watching the Kings. That was all Gregg cared about. Then reality hit him and he realized that he financed the heck out of this arena and had little operating capitol left to afford the skyrocketing NBA salaries. So he sold to a man who he thought could be a caretaker of the team and take it to the next level. Sadly Jim Thomas didn't realize that he could keep up with the skyrocketing salaries either without a facility that generated more revenue. The loan was requested and everyone pretty much knows the story from there.
So the public support got a free ride on the private finance bandwagon and the different Kings owners got a ride to the poor house trying to make a private building work. Private is nice, but it works in downtown LA or NY - not in Sacramento or any other city. So in a sense, it was always going to end like this where the public support was needed to keep the team.
Great post JB.
Anyone who was able to attend games at the old arco knows why Mr. Lukenbill built Arco2 the way he did.
I still have the SI article about the old arco and how insane it was. Every visiting team marvelled at how loud and crazy the atmosphere was. 10,333 people blew that roof off that place. Arco 2 was built to duplicate that atmosphere.
Anyone who was able to attend games at the old arco knows why Mr. Lukenbill built Arco2 the way he did.
I still have the SI article about the old arco and how insane it was. Every visiting team marvelled at how loud and crazy the atmosphere was. 10,333 people blew that roof off that place. Arco 2 was built to duplicate that atmosphere.
http://www.csncalifornia.com/02/25/11/Dave-Et-tu-KJ/landing_kings.html?blockID=427827&feedID=5883
Carmichael Dave's editorial on CSN Californa
Carmichael Dave's editorial on CSN Californa