http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/35246.html
Loyalty to the Kings may have price limit
For many fans, the railyard plan's cost is just too steep.
By Mary Lynne Vellinga - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Saturday, October 7, 2006
Claire Forehand loves the Kings, but not enough to pay another quarter cent in sales tax on every dollar she spends to help build them an arena -- even if it means the team would leave Sacramento.
"I think they're wonderful; I wish they could stay in town," said Forehand, who lives in Sacramento's Greenhaven neighborhood. "But I'm a teacher, I'm divorced, I have two children to put through college. I can't afford to go to any of the games. ... Why would I vote for higher taxes to build an arena I can't even afford to go to?"
Forehand's comments reflect the findings of a recent poll commissioned by The Bee. Pollsters found that while six in 10 voters interviewed identified themselves as Kings fans, just 27 percent said it was "very important" to them that the team remain in town.
Another 32 percent said it was "somewhat important," and 41 percent said it was "not important."
That's still a robust level of fan support compared with some other places, said Cheryl Katz, vice president of polling firm Baldassare and Associates. In 1994, she said, 18 percent of Orange County voters polled considered it very important to them to keep the Los Angeles Rams football team in town. The team decamped to St. Louis a year later.
Kings fans are renowned for their enthusiasm and decibel level. While NBA teams around the country are having trouble filling their arenas, Arco -- with one of the highest ticket prices in the league -- packs them in.
"One of the huge things we have is our phenomenal fans," said team spokeswoman Jaime Morse-Mills.
But that go-team spirit doesn't necessarily translate into a willingness to pay upward of $542 million in taxes for a new arena. Even among those who said it was "very important" to them that the Kings stay, just 35 percent supported Measure R, which would raise the sales tax to pay for an arena.
Katz said the lack of support and the lack of widespread angst about the Kings potentially leaving reflect differing priorities of the affluent and the middle and lower classes.
A new sales tax would cut across all income groups. Both poor people and rich people would have to pay it. But rising ticket prices have made attending professional sporting events "a pastime of the affluent," Katz said.
"It's become as expensive as going to the opera," she said.
While a majority of voters in every income group said they would vote against Measure R, negative reaction was highest among those earning less than $50,000: Only 17 percent of voters in that category said they were in favor, compared with 28 percent of those earning more than $100,000.
Sacramento's business establishment has lined up solidly behind Measures Q and R, which together would raise the sales tax and ask voters to bless spending about half of the $1.2 billion raised on a new arena.
Proponents of the arena plan have dubbed Q & R the "quality-of-life" initiatives. They argue that having a state-of-the-art facility to host NBA games, concerts and other entertainment events would help attract businesses. They also tout the potential for an arena to spur redevelopment of the dormant downtown railyard into an exciting urban district.
"Thoughtful folks I've talked to see this as a good thing. They see the jobs that could happen, the vitality, the entertainment," said Pat Fong-Kushida, president of the Sacramento Asian-Pacific Chamber of Commerce. "Basketball only happens (part) of the year. That entertainment facility is where my daughter is going to be able to see the Ice Capades."
But the patrons at gigaBite Café on Marconi Avenue have a different take on the matter, said owner Marisa Bernetti, one of those interviewed by polling firm Baldassare Associates.
"The people I've talked to are basically feeling as if these guys (the Kings owners) are just arrogant millionaires who want it their way or no way," said Bernetti, a Monarchs fan.
"We really don't want the team to leave, but if that's what it has to be, that's what it has to be," she said.
Forehand, an English teacher at Valley High School, fails to see how passage of the measures will help her. "If you can't afford to go, it won't affect your quality of life," she said.
It is unclear whether the behavior of Joe and Gavin Maloof, whose family owns the team, has eroded the region's attachment to the Kings and Monarchs.
John Thomas, president of Maloof Sports & Entertainment, said there's no evidence for that. He said fans are excited about the new coaching staff and Kings player roster for the upcoming season.
But Thomas and Joe Maloof said the long discussion of how to replace aging Arco is hurting the organization's bottom line as businesses hold off on buying sponsorships or luxury suites -- investments that usually span about three years and have more to do with bottom-line calculations than fan fervor.
Thomas said sales of sponsorship are down about 15 percent since their peak three years ago. Five of the team's 30 suites remain unsold as the season opener approaches.
"A lot of people are concerned about what's happening with the future of this arena," Maloof said last week. He and Gavin insist they want to stay in Sacramento but are equally adamant that Arco needs to be replaced.
The Bee poll was taken Sept. 22-25, after the Maloofs had angrily exited negotiations with the city and county. The brothers said local government negotiators had reneged on various promises -- including a pledge that they would receive the revenue from 8,000 parking spaces in the railyard. City and county negotiators say they made no such promises.
The Maloofs' exit left proponents of the arena campaigning without the team.
The Bee poll showed dismal approval ratings for Q & R -- 16 percent said they supported both.
While the poll showed that most Sacramento voters aren't preoccupied with the prospect of losing the Kings, some people out there -- the ones with purple paraphernalia -- are.
Some live outside Sacramento County and don't get to cast ballots. According to Maloof Sports, 38.4 percent of season ticket holders live elsewhere, the largest contingent in Placer County.
The arena debate is a big topic on KingsFans.com, a local fan Web site.
Christine Gillespie is one of the Web site's monitors. She describes herself as a die-hard fan who paints her nails purple and once gave a litter of kittens the names of Kings' players.
Gillespie moved to Plumas National Forest a few years back and makes the two-hour trek down to Kings games several times a year. She's not happy with the way the Maloofs have handled the arena negotiations.
Nonetheless, Gillespie said she would make a point of buying high-ticket items in Sacramento County if the measures pass. That way, her sales tax would go to help build an arena.
"My family is fifth-generation Sacramentan," Gillespie said. "I used to go to the Alhambra Theatre. I've seen treasured landmarks in Sacramento disappear. I don't want the same thing to happen to the Kings."
About the writer: The Bee's Mary Lynne Vellinga can be reached at (916) 321-1094 or mlvellinga@sacbee.com.
Loyalty to the Kings may have price limit
For many fans, the railyard plan's cost is just too steep.
By Mary Lynne Vellinga - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Saturday, October 7, 2006
Claire Forehand loves the Kings, but not enough to pay another quarter cent in sales tax on every dollar she spends to help build them an arena -- even if it means the team would leave Sacramento.
"I think they're wonderful; I wish they could stay in town," said Forehand, who lives in Sacramento's Greenhaven neighborhood. "But I'm a teacher, I'm divorced, I have two children to put through college. I can't afford to go to any of the games. ... Why would I vote for higher taxes to build an arena I can't even afford to go to?"
Forehand's comments reflect the findings of a recent poll commissioned by The Bee. Pollsters found that while six in 10 voters interviewed identified themselves as Kings fans, just 27 percent said it was "very important" to them that the team remain in town.
Another 32 percent said it was "somewhat important," and 41 percent said it was "not important."
That's still a robust level of fan support compared with some other places, said Cheryl Katz, vice president of polling firm Baldassare and Associates. In 1994, she said, 18 percent of Orange County voters polled considered it very important to them to keep the Los Angeles Rams football team in town. The team decamped to St. Louis a year later.
Kings fans are renowned for their enthusiasm and decibel level. While NBA teams around the country are having trouble filling their arenas, Arco -- with one of the highest ticket prices in the league -- packs them in.
"One of the huge things we have is our phenomenal fans," said team spokeswoman Jaime Morse-Mills.
But that go-team spirit doesn't necessarily translate into a willingness to pay upward of $542 million in taxes for a new arena. Even among those who said it was "very important" to them that the Kings stay, just 35 percent supported Measure R, which would raise the sales tax to pay for an arena.
Katz said the lack of support and the lack of widespread angst about the Kings potentially leaving reflect differing priorities of the affluent and the middle and lower classes.
A new sales tax would cut across all income groups. Both poor people and rich people would have to pay it. But rising ticket prices have made attending professional sporting events "a pastime of the affluent," Katz said.
"It's become as expensive as going to the opera," she said.
While a majority of voters in every income group said they would vote against Measure R, negative reaction was highest among those earning less than $50,000: Only 17 percent of voters in that category said they were in favor, compared with 28 percent of those earning more than $100,000.
Sacramento's business establishment has lined up solidly behind Measures Q and R, which together would raise the sales tax and ask voters to bless spending about half of the $1.2 billion raised on a new arena.
Proponents of the arena plan have dubbed Q & R the "quality-of-life" initiatives. They argue that having a state-of-the-art facility to host NBA games, concerts and other entertainment events would help attract businesses. They also tout the potential for an arena to spur redevelopment of the dormant downtown railyard into an exciting urban district.
"Thoughtful folks I've talked to see this as a good thing. They see the jobs that could happen, the vitality, the entertainment," said Pat Fong-Kushida, president of the Sacramento Asian-Pacific Chamber of Commerce. "Basketball only happens (part) of the year. That entertainment facility is where my daughter is going to be able to see the Ice Capades."
But the patrons at gigaBite Café on Marconi Avenue have a different take on the matter, said owner Marisa Bernetti, one of those interviewed by polling firm Baldassare Associates.
"The people I've talked to are basically feeling as if these guys (the Kings owners) are just arrogant millionaires who want it their way or no way," said Bernetti, a Monarchs fan.
"We really don't want the team to leave, but if that's what it has to be, that's what it has to be," she said.
Forehand, an English teacher at Valley High School, fails to see how passage of the measures will help her. "If you can't afford to go, it won't affect your quality of life," she said.
It is unclear whether the behavior of Joe and Gavin Maloof, whose family owns the team, has eroded the region's attachment to the Kings and Monarchs.
John Thomas, president of Maloof Sports & Entertainment, said there's no evidence for that. He said fans are excited about the new coaching staff and Kings player roster for the upcoming season.
But Thomas and Joe Maloof said the long discussion of how to replace aging Arco is hurting the organization's bottom line as businesses hold off on buying sponsorships or luxury suites -- investments that usually span about three years and have more to do with bottom-line calculations than fan fervor.
Thomas said sales of sponsorship are down about 15 percent since their peak three years ago. Five of the team's 30 suites remain unsold as the season opener approaches.
"A lot of people are concerned about what's happening with the future of this arena," Maloof said last week. He and Gavin insist they want to stay in Sacramento but are equally adamant that Arco needs to be replaced.
The Bee poll was taken Sept. 22-25, after the Maloofs had angrily exited negotiations with the city and county. The brothers said local government negotiators had reneged on various promises -- including a pledge that they would receive the revenue from 8,000 parking spaces in the railyard. City and county negotiators say they made no such promises.
The Maloofs' exit left proponents of the arena campaigning without the team.
The Bee poll showed dismal approval ratings for Q & R -- 16 percent said they supported both.
While the poll showed that most Sacramento voters aren't preoccupied with the prospect of losing the Kings, some people out there -- the ones with purple paraphernalia -- are.
Some live outside Sacramento County and don't get to cast ballots. According to Maloof Sports, 38.4 percent of season ticket holders live elsewhere, the largest contingent in Placer County.
The arena debate is a big topic on KingsFans.com, a local fan Web site.
Christine Gillespie is one of the Web site's monitors. She describes herself as a die-hard fan who paints her nails purple and once gave a litter of kittens the names of Kings' players.
Gillespie moved to Plumas National Forest a few years back and makes the two-hour trek down to Kings games several times a year. She's not happy with the way the Maloofs have handled the arena negotiations.
Nonetheless, Gillespie said she would make a point of buying high-ticket items in Sacramento County if the measures pass. That way, her sales tax would go to help build an arena.
"My family is fifth-generation Sacramentan," Gillespie said. "I used to go to the Alhambra Theatre. I've seen treasured landmarks in Sacramento disappear. I don't want the same thing to happen to the Kings."
About the writer: The Bee's Mary Lynne Vellinga can be reached at (916) 321-1094 or mlvellinga@sacbee.com.
