A couple of good articles

[kennadog]

These are not new, I just came across them. There's a two part article done by Sacramento's public radio station. The other is the local Comstock's Business magazine. Both are excellent and unbiased, IMHO. They are too long to post here and you don't need to subscribe to read them.

http://www.comstocksbusiness.com/ccr-story-1105.htm

In the Belly of an Aging Beast
by Jeff Hudson

When you look at Arco Arena, what do you see?

How about 17,317 seats packed with noisy, happy Kings fans. The popular NBA franchise, which has been in Sacramento for more than 20 years, has one of the best attendance records in the league. The arena also hosts big-name rock concerts, touring ice shows, graduation ceremonies and more ‹ around 200 events a year.

That's an accurate image of Arco, as far as it goes. But that single snapshot of a busy building filled with people doesn't capture all of the significant details.

Take another look at Arco Arena and you'll see a facility that was built in 1988. Even at that time, it was a good deal plainer than other arenas of its era. Several arenas built in 1988 are now being replaced by fancier, more spacious arenas.

Look at Arco, and you can see an aging facility that's received comparatively few upgrades, with a leaky roof that's more than 10 years past its prime. Arco also has antiquated ice-making equipment that barely makes the grade.

http://www.capradio.com/news/specials/arco/

ARCO: Aging Arena...Uncertain Future

Last week, a Disney ice show visited ARCO Arena, and I was there, along with several thousand of kids, many of whom had souvenier noisemakers.

(Music, rising, “The Bare Necessities).

The lyrics of the song couldn’t be more fitting, because a growing number of people feel that ARCO Arena provides only the bare necessities as a venue, especially for pro basketball.

But most fans who go to events at ARCO are satisfied with things just the way they are, and don’t see any point in spending hundreds of millions of dollars to build something new. Especially the fans who’ve lived in Sacramento for a long time, and haven’t seen other arenas in other cities. “Ahh, it’s fine to me. I don’t come every game, I’m not a season ticket holder. But I don’t have a problem with it.”

“I think this one is still good enough.”

“It seems to be housing all the activities and the events that come here. I think it would be a waste of the community money to build a new one.”

However, if you talk with a fan who’s moved here recently from another city, you get a different view. “It’s definitely starting to become a dated arena. A new arena really can revitalize the city, as San Jose Arena did for San Jose."

I also spoke with a UC Davis student from Los Angeles. He’s used to attending games at the Staples Center, a $330 million venue that opened in 1999. He’s not impressed with ARCO. “Looking at the standards of construction, in comparison with the Staples Center, you basically sat back and think, Wow, this is pretty crappy.”

The facts are that ARCO is one of the oldest and smallest arenas used by an NBA team. ARCO was built seventeen years ago for $40 million dollars, at a time when cities like Detroit and Milwaukee built bigger arenas for $70 to $90 million dollars. Another 18 cities built NBA arenas in the ‘90s, and seven more have opened since 2000.

Matt Mahood, president of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, says that ARCO simply doesn’t measure up. “The folks that built it, they did a great job getting it built, because it needed to get done. But they did it in a hurry, and on the cheap. So a lot of the systems and the mechanisms that were actually in the facility when it was built are now becoming obsolete.”

 

[VF21]

Good finds, kennadog. I added just a bit of a teaser from each article.

 

[kennadog]

Thanks , I found them very informative. Especially the history of the construction of Arco I and Arco II. I got to go to the United Center in Chicago last year. Its really nice to walk out of the game on a concourse where you're not afraid of what happens when the herd spooks and the stampede is on.

Honestly, if they had to evacuate that arena for an emergency, I think there would be a disastrous loss of life. Not funny.

 

[JB_kings]

Good articles with lots of history and a peek of the possible future if the Conseco model is used.
The Palace of Auburn Hills is an example I can draw from. It opened the same year as Arco. I visited there in 1996 and again a few months ago. What I saw in 1996 was far better than Arco ever was. And even with that, the Palace was remodeled since I was last there 10 years ago. You can't even compare the two buildings because Arco looks like a mid-level college arena compared.
The thing that worries me the most is all the comments from fans that show that they think what they have is good enough. If Arco's lifespan was a 24 hour clock, it would now be about 11:00 PM.
The sad thing is that it will cost more money to NOT build this new arena in the next few years.
Why?
Because once the Kings leave (count on that), the debt that Maloof Sports & Entertainment from the loan given to Jim Thomas will probably be paid off by handing over Arco to the City of Sacramento. MS&E has no desire to own and run a building who just lost two tennants. So now the city owns Arco and guess what? The building is at the end of it's life and you still need to build a new arena. No private investor is going to buy a building at the end of it's life knowing that 300-400 million is needed to put up a new facility. The city is going to be backed into a corner no matter what. Their best and cheapest alternative is to build it now. Big cities build facilities like arenas for it's citizens. Sacramento got off cheap in 1988 - it won't get off cheap forever.

 

[kennadog]

Good articles with lots of history and a peek of the possible future if the Conseco model is used.
The Palace of Auburn Hills is an example I can draw from. It opened the same year as Arco. I visited there in 1996 and again a few months ago. What I saw in 1996 was far better than Arco ever was. And even with that, the Palace was remodeled since I was last there 10 years ago. You can't even compare the two buildings because Arco looks like a mid-level college arena compared.
The thing that worries me the most is all the comments from fans that show that they think what they have is good enough. If Arco's lifespan was a 24 hour clock, it would now be about 11:00 PM.
The sad thing is that it will cost more money to NOT build this new arena in the next few years.
Why?
Because once the Kings leave (count on that), the debt that Maloof Sports & Entertainment from the loan given to Jim Thomas will probably be paid off by handing over Arco to the City of Sacramento. MS&E has no desire to own and run a building who just lost two tennants. So now the city owns Arco and guess what? The building is at the end of it's life and you still need to build a new arena. No private investor is going to buy a building at the end of it's life knowing that 300-400 million is needed to put up a new facility. The city is going to be backed into a corner no matter what. Their best and cheapest alternative is to build it now. Big cities build facilities like arenas for it's citizens. Sacramento got off cheap in 1988 - it won't get off cheap forever.

Exactly what I've been preaching. The citizens will end up with no Kings and no arena for any events. And it only gets more expensive to build every month that passes.

 

[Fusey]

Another thing Sacramento and its citizens need to consider is revitalization. I think a new arena is just what this city needs, something we can build around.

 

[bibbinator]

When we do get a new arena, they need to be really careful to make sure they don't price the fans out in order to make way for too many corporate partiers. I know they have to go for the corporate dollars to make it work, but they need to find a way not to take it too far.

The problem with party boxers is that they're there to witness, not to contribute; they're business people, out showing clients a good time, not real fans.

If they're not careful they'll end up with a nice, modern arena with a fraction of the spirit they got at Arco.

 

[Amanjoy]

When we do get a new arena, they need to be really careful to make sure they don't price the fans out in order to make way for too many corporate partiers. I know they have to go for the corporate dollars to make it work, but they need to find a way not to take it too far.

The problem with party boxers is that they're there to witness, not to contribute; they're business people, out showing clients a good time, not real fans.

If they're not careful they'll end up with a nice, modern arena with a fraction of the spirit they got at Arco.

It's for that reason that I WISH Arco could be renovated...but that's not a reality. There's not much more to say that hasn't already been said...so in the words of Larry the Cable Guy, "Get 'r done!"

 

[VF21]

When we do get a new arena, they need to be really careful to make sure they don't price the fans out in order to make way for too many corporate partiers. I know they have to go for the corporate dollars to make it work, but they need to find a way not to take it too far.

The problem with party boxers is that they're there to witness, not to contribute; they're business people, out showing clients a good time, not real fans.

If they're not careful they'll end up with a nice, modern arena with a fraction of the spirit they got at Arco.

I'm pretty sure they've already taken that into consideration. And the perfect mix for a successful franchise is BOTH real fans and people who are there "to witness" and "have a good time." When you're in an arena filled with screaming fans, you tend to get drawn into the excitement. Some of the most rabid Kings fans I know got started after going to just one game. They might not have even really followed the team before but one exposure to the excitement of a Kings game drew them in.

The Maloofs are good at drawing people in. The Palms is one of the most successful casinos on the strip. I'm sure they have a design in mind that will incorporate the best of both worlds.

Bottom line? Like Amanjoy says, now it's more a matter of "Git 'r done!"

 

[hoopsfan]

Honestly, if they had to evacuate that arena for an emergency, I think there would be a disastrous loss of life. Not funny.

Have you ever been to a Warriors game??? I thought I was gonna die before I got out to my car!! I had tickets to another game and gave them away rather than subject myself to that deathtrap again!!

 

[kennadog]

Have you ever been to a Warriors game??? I thought I was gonna die before I got out to my car!! I had tickets to another game and gave them away rather than subject myself to that deathtrap again!!

Thanks for the warning! No, I haven't had the pleasure. But I was being pushed around by the crowd at Arco once and almost fell. I had a brief flash of soccer game crowd tramplings. (Really, I was quite scared for a moment, afriad I wouldn't be able to get back up. )