Several sides will be in the same room for the first time at today's meeting
By Terri Hardy
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/14276735p-15086053c.html
As a last-ditch negotiating effort to build a new Sacramento sports arena gets under way this afternoon, it marks the first time all parties with a stake in its construction are in the same room.
The players include Sacramento Vice Mayor Rob Fong and Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson -- the first time local elected leaders have directly participated. Also attending are Joe and Gavin Maloof, the owners of the Kings, and a top lawyer or two from the National Basketball Association.
The setting is surreal -- the Las Vegas Palms Hotel, owned by the Maloof family and chosen for the summit so George Maloof also can participate in the talks.
Arena negotiations broke down two weeks ago. Today's hastily convened meeting is viewed as an 11th-hour opportunity to make a deal and meet a deadline to put an arena financing measure before voters in November.
"There was a shared frustration on all sides that there never was a deal maker in the room, someone who could say yes or no," Fong said. "It's huge, it's very significant that the Maloofs wanted us to be in the same room with them."
John Thomas, president of Maloof Sports and Entertainment, also will be at the table. The objective of the meeting, he said, was "speaking face-to-face for the first time."
"We're all going in optimistic, we want to get an agreement and vote on it," Thomas said. "At the same time, it's serious work."
A deadline looms. Because the arena talks have focused on funding the facility in part with a quarter-cent Sacramento County sales tax increase, California's Constitution requires the prospect go before voters during a regularly scheduled general election, said assistant county counsel John Whisenhunt.
The law requires approval from the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors to put the measure on a ballot. Regulations call for the supervisors to see the item in two separate meetings, with the first look on July 25 and the vote on Aug. 2, said John Dangberg, an assistant city manager for economic development.
"This is really the last stand," Dangberg said. Practically, the deal has to be done and presented to the supervisors before July 25 so they can digest the deal, he said.
When negotiations broke down June 29, participants said the two sides were far apart on several key points including price and fair share. The arena team is using the Memphis, Tenn., arena -- which cost $250 million to build in 2004 -- as a comparison for talks.
But the sides couldn't agree on a price tag for a Sacramento arena. Costs for materials have skyrocketed, and building on the West Coast is more expensive, officials said.
After talks ended there was silence, with no movement on the deal, Fong said.
With two weeks before the deadline, Fong said he decided to call the NBA and ask for a meeting, hoping it would kick-start the process. Fong, Dangberg and Paul Hahn, the county's economic development director, flew to New York for a meeting with the NBA on Thursday. Dickinson participated by telephone.
"We wanted to assure them about Sacramento's commitment, and test what the NBA's commitment to Sacramento was," Fong said.
Although the NBA is not a neutral party -- NBA team owners essentially are the league's boss -- Fong and his group asked the NBA to play a facilitator role.
The NBA got the ball rolling by calling the Maloofs. On Friday, the Maloofs offered to reconvene talks, but wanted to involve brother George. George Maloof is the force behind the building of the trendy Palms casino, and could attend only if the talks were in Las Vegas.
Also, NBA Commissioner David Stern, who is on vacation, directed league attorneys Harvey Benjamin and possibly Joel Litvin to attend the sit-down.
The arena negotiators will be rounded out with Dan Barrett, a Southern California sports consultant working for the city, and former state Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, representing the Maloofs.
By Terri Hardy
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/14276735p-15086053c.html
As a last-ditch negotiating effort to build a new Sacramento sports arena gets under way this afternoon, it marks the first time all parties with a stake in its construction are in the same room.
The players include Sacramento Vice Mayor Rob Fong and Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson -- the first time local elected leaders have directly participated. Also attending are Joe and Gavin Maloof, the owners of the Kings, and a top lawyer or two from the National Basketball Association.
The setting is surreal -- the Las Vegas Palms Hotel, owned by the Maloof family and chosen for the summit so George Maloof also can participate in the talks.
Arena negotiations broke down two weeks ago. Today's hastily convened meeting is viewed as an 11th-hour opportunity to make a deal and meet a deadline to put an arena financing measure before voters in November.
"There was a shared frustration on all sides that there never was a deal maker in the room, someone who could say yes or no," Fong said. "It's huge, it's very significant that the Maloofs wanted us to be in the same room with them."
John Thomas, president of Maloof Sports and Entertainment, also will be at the table. The objective of the meeting, he said, was "speaking face-to-face for the first time."
"We're all going in optimistic, we want to get an agreement and vote on it," Thomas said. "At the same time, it's serious work."
A deadline looms. Because the arena talks have focused on funding the facility in part with a quarter-cent Sacramento County sales tax increase, California's Constitution requires the prospect go before voters during a regularly scheduled general election, said assistant county counsel John Whisenhunt.
The law requires approval from the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors to put the measure on a ballot. Regulations call for the supervisors to see the item in two separate meetings, with the first look on July 25 and the vote on Aug. 2, said John Dangberg, an assistant city manager for economic development.
"This is really the last stand," Dangberg said. Practically, the deal has to be done and presented to the supervisors before July 25 so they can digest the deal, he said.
When negotiations broke down June 29, participants said the two sides were far apart on several key points including price and fair share. The arena team is using the Memphis, Tenn., arena -- which cost $250 million to build in 2004 -- as a comparison for talks.
But the sides couldn't agree on a price tag for a Sacramento arena. Costs for materials have skyrocketed, and building on the West Coast is more expensive, officials said.
After talks ended there was silence, with no movement on the deal, Fong said.
With two weeks before the deadline, Fong said he decided to call the NBA and ask for a meeting, hoping it would kick-start the process. Fong, Dangberg and Paul Hahn, the county's economic development director, flew to New York for a meeting with the NBA on Thursday. Dickinson participated by telephone.
"We wanted to assure them about Sacramento's commitment, and test what the NBA's commitment to Sacramento was," Fong said.
Although the NBA is not a neutral party -- NBA team owners essentially are the league's boss -- Fong and his group asked the NBA to play a facilitator role.
The NBA got the ball rolling by calling the Maloofs. On Friday, the Maloofs offered to reconvene talks, but wanted to involve brother George. George Maloof is the force behind the building of the trendy Palms casino, and could attend only if the talks were in Las Vegas.
Also, NBA Commissioner David Stern, who is on vacation, directed league attorneys Harvey Benjamin and possibly Joel Litvin to attend the sit-down.
The arena negotiators will be rounded out with Dan Barrett, a Southern California sports consultant working for the city, and former state Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, representing the Maloofs.
