The Sacramento Kings have agreed to pay $500,000 to help launch a downtown streetcar line as part of a landmark deal with Caltrans to reduce traffic tie-ups that an arena is expected to cause on local freeways, state and city officials say.
As envisioned, the streetcar would run on a 3-mile line through downtown that would go past the arena on K Street and include numerous stops. The line would connect the convention center, downtown hotels, the railyard and Old Sacramento. It also would cross the Tower Bridge for stops in West Sacramento, including Raley Field. The line is expected to cost $130 million to $150 million.
City officials said the goal is to have streetcars running by 2017, the year after the arena is scheduled to open. Sacramento and West Sacramento leaders say they hope to persuade the federal government to pay for half of the cost, but that U.S. Department of Transportation officials have privately told them Sacramento must first show that key local players are supportive and that local businesses are willing to help out financially.
