"Coalition" threatening arena efforts

[butteredbiscuit]

Oh please. I swear you must be related to Hansen or some of the Sonicsrising folks.

A new arena cannot be constructed in Natomas now or in the foreseeable future. If you'd actually been following all of this, you would know that. There is a federal moratorium on building in the area., Period. End of Natomas arena discussion, at least until the moratorium issue is resolved, which could take years or decades.

As far as your criticism of the city goes, it is also off base and without merit. Until Kevin Johnson became mayor, the city council was rife with those who did not want to support the Kings. To get to where we are today took a lot of effort. The idea of renovating the downtown area of Sacramento is part and parcel to the support for the entertainment and sports complex. IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT AN ARENA!

The point isn't just about the Kings.

Not involved with hansen or the sonicsrising family

I dont trust any politician especially any city council member. I am glad KJ is doing something (give him credit) for being the only one who has done most of the work to motivate people to get moving on this. but Stern is giving hints about the arena and the bid money for a reason!! Why would he say that the amount is not enough.. I wonder what that reason is .

 

[Mike0476]

GVD already started backing off from his statement about JK having the 400 million for a new arena. He's been saying the city needs to contribute now. No specifics as usual.

JK and GVD are irrelevant.

I can only speak for myself but I back Mayor Johnson and the city of Sacramento. No hidden agendas with them. It's all about what the city wants and we the people have spoken...lets Crown Downtown.

 

[Mike0476]

Not involved with hansen or the sonicsrising family

I dont trust any politician especially any city council member. I am glad KJ is doing something (give him credit) for being the only one who has done most of the work to motivate people to get moving on this. but Stern is giving hints about the arena and the bid money for a reason!! Why would he say that the amount is not enough.. I wonder what that reason is .

Stern has a lot of invested in Sacramento. Think of it this way...

Sacramento is playing pin the tail on the donkey and all Stern is doing is helping Sacramento with the location of the donkey. Or as others have said it's like he's giving Sacramento a map to the buried treasure.

 

[Section 101]

I swapped some twitter responses with GVD - the idea is apparently to build the arena high enough in Natomas that it is out of the flood zone. Basically an arena on a hill. I guess this is technically feasible (I will leave that to others to decide), however I don't think it is the wisest choice......for a variety of reasons.

In 2008, the Federal Emergency Management Agency declared that Natomas would lose its 100-year flood protection rating because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had ruled the community's levees are vulnerable to seepage.

This triggered a host of new federal rules, starting with a mandate for Natomas homeowners to purchase flood insurance. It also brought a requirement that new construction in Natomas must be elevated above the expected flood depth.

In practice, this created a building moratorium that continues to this day, because flood depths in Natomas can exceed 20 feet. That means the first floor of any newly constructed home would have to be perched 20 feet above the ground – a construction feat that is technically feasible but at exorbitant cost.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/27/50...meowner.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy

The ultimate fix is to finish upgrading the levees in Natomas.

The Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency began this work in 2007 and has completed half of it so far, thanks in large part to property tax increases supported by local residents.

There are 24 miles of levees that still need repair, and this work is the responsibility of the Army Corps of Engineers. FEMA is prepared to lift the Natomas building restrictions once Congress approves funding for the Corps' construction plan for these levees. This step, however, is held up by a ban in Congress on so-called "earmark" funding.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/27/50...meowner.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy

So how much more does it cost to raise it 20 feet higher for the first floor?

 

[Trueblood]

I understand that now. Let me ask you this.. What is the point of Kehriotis arena? Is he here just to stir up the pot like what the group here did to stop Farmers field? See you would only know.. Ok remember over in the city of industry we had the drawings for the new football stadium right? Ok so City of Industry is a dump but there is usuable land there. Lets be honest! So it would be privately built but then all of a sudden, they want it by staples over on Pico. Then they want 1 billion to build it? If you want football in LA, Why would you spend 1 billion for a stadium downtown when you could do it so much cheaper in the City of Industry for so much less? Then now they want to build a football stadium above Dodgers stadium? Just ridiclous! That was my point! Why not build at Natamos if it was cheaper? But since everyone except Kehriotis thinks you cant do it, seems that maybe K knows something or is he just a real joke? Maybe he is doing what OKC owner bennett did? Oh we will look at building an arena in Renton WA instead of Seattle and then turn it down like Maloofs did to VB showing that at least we tried but it didnt work.

Regarding the LA football stadium, I agree with you. Unlike MLB, NBA and the NHL, the NFL doesn't need downtown stadiums since they only play once a week and usually on Sunday. No need to be near the downtown businesses but rather in an area with a large parking lot so that the fans can take advantage of tailgating which is very much a culture of the NFL.

As far as Dodger Stadium or Industry, either is fine by me. Dodger Stadium has a large parking lot that can hold the fans and the ensuing tailgating while the Industry site can add a parking lot but yeah, downtown is a joke. They would have to tear down the Convention Center which will cost $300 million alone. That alone makes the project a financial disaster and is why the NFL says that it won't be profitable for AEG. Throw in the lousy parking situation and it should be a no go. But make no mistake about it. A football stadium is going to cost $1 billion or close to it regardless of where they build it. It's the $300 million needed to demolish the convention center then build a new one that makes it a no go.

As for Kehriotis, he is looking more and more like a snake in the grass and with him now saying that there needs to be public dollars, this will be a no go as well.

 

[JB_kings]

JK and GVD are irrelevant.

I can only speak for myself but I back Mayor Johnson and the city of Sacramento. No hidden agendas with them. It's all about what the city wants and we the people have spoken...lets Crown Downtown.

I think so as well. The city is only backing the Burkle/Mastrov group.

And if you've noticed that the city is pushing their upcoming term sheet meetings very hard on social media. Repeating several times a day. It's almost like they know they will have a term sheet to discuss starting this Thursday afternoon.

 

[Warhawk]

So how much more does it cost to raise it 20 feet higher for the first floor?

Well, STA is already built on a hill to a certain extent (main entrances), however the loading docks, security entrance, etc., are not. Not sure what the technical requirements are for the minimum elevation. Lowest occupied level? Lowest doorway? Other???

 

[Warhawk]

Regarding the LA football stadium, I agree with you. Unlike MLB, NBA and the NHL, the NFL doesn't need downtown stadiums since they only play once a week and usually on Sunday. No need to be near the downtown businesses but rather in an area with a large parking lot so that the fans can take advantage of tailgating which is very much a culture of the NFL.

As far as Dodger Stadium or Industry, either is fine by me. Dodger Stadium has a large parking lot that can hold the fans and the ensuing tailgating while the Industry site can add a parking lot but yeah, downtown is a joke. They would have to tear down the Convention Center which will cost $300 million alone. That alone makes the project a financial disaster and is why the NFL says that it won't be profitable for AEG. Throw in the lousy parking situation and it should be a no go. But make no mistake about it. A football stadium is going to cost $1 billion or close to it regardless of where they build it. It's the $300 million needed to demolish the convention center then build a new one that makes it a no go.

As for Kehriotis, he is looking more and more like a snake in the grass and with him now saying that there needs to be public dollars, this will be a no go as well.

Not just that, it is typically every other Sunday or so due to travel games. Largely unused facilities except for football. Arenas, on the other hand, can be used for 4-5x as many nights as there are basketball games at home per year.

And regarding K - yeah, it was always fishy with that "I will have a plan soon" while we see him sitting behind the Maloofs in the infamous "shooting down of the arena deal" video.

 

[Trueblood]

Not just that, it is typically every other Sunday or so due to travel games. Largely unused facilities except for football. Arenas, on the other hand, can be used for 4-5x as many nights as there are basketball games at home per year.

Exactly. That's why I get so frustrated with the anti arena people. These buildings cost half what the NFL stadiums do, can host both the NBA and NHL plus over 100 other events a year and are economic catalysts for it's respective downtown areas.

The NFL is a cash cow even if you play the games in older stadiums. The value of teams in KC, Buffalo, Oakland, San Diego and other markets with 40 year old stadiums is still higher than just about every team in the NBA or the NHL. Therefore, I see less need for public assistance or for a new stadium altogether. Throw in the fact that these teams are profitable and you wonder why the owners themselves aren't willing to put more money into it.