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http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_18362.shtml
It’s Your Choice Sacramento
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By C. Sawyer
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Aug 7, 2006, 17:56
Sacramento, known to some as the Capitol of the State of California, gateway to Lake Tahoe, white water rafting and the great outdoors, close to University of California at Davis, and the home of the Sacramento Kings. Sacramento, also known as a city where the levees are just barely holding their own, where there’s not much night life, and where there are a lot of cows.
The people of Sacramento have a choice as to their future and how they want to define their city going forward. Many will say that this one issue, an arena for a basketball team, should not define their city and would ultimately be a waste of taxpayer dollars. Yet ultimately this vote could either give Sacramento a new arena, for more than just basketball, the continuity of a solid professional sports team, and a firm identity, or send the city back to circa 1980.
One of the biggest arguments against the arena has been that there are more important concerns to spend taxpayers’ dollars on. No doubt that is true, however as a taxpayer I have found that the government has never been challenged on finding problems to spend tax dollars on. There will always be needs, from social welfare to highways to funding government payrolls. These needs will continue and will grow and sadly our tax money will never yield a return from this type of spending. It is necessary, yes, but so is the arena.
There have also been many arguments on the costs and benefits, on the spending by the Maloofs versus the city (aka. taxpayers) regarding the arena. Yes, the city will spend more than the Maloofs, yes the Maloofs are most likely getting a better deal than the city, yes there is no guarantee that there will be the types of returns that are being promised, however the city is going to spend money (and waste money) no matter what. And the Maloofs are going to get a good deal on an arena, if not here then somewhere else.
Voting yes on the arena will add a tax burden on the people of this town and ultimately not everyone will use it. However adding the arena will bring additional jobs, construction, retail, and restaurants. The arena will not just be for the Kings. It will draw other performers, other activity, and possibly other types of jobs. It could be the beginning of more construction and even possibly some improvements to the surrounding areas, roads and highways to lessen the congestion. It will not be instantaneous but it will happen. Just look at Los Angeles. The Staples center was built over six years ago, before that no one went downtown, except to the Music Center area. Now there are condos galore, more restaurants, a large-scale retail and restaurant complex being built and a stop on the Blue-line. It can still be scary late after a game, and there is still lot of improvement that needs to come, but it is coming. Without Staples this neighborhood would have continued along its deteriorating path.
Losing out on the arena will ultimately mean a good-bye to the Kings, a possible good-bye to Arco. Without Arco, no concerts, no rodeos, the only events would be government related conventions. The rail yards will remain vacant and toxic. But believe me, there will still be a tax increase, if not for an arena, it will be for something. There will be no construction, no growth.
Just for comparison purposes, below are the Top 50 Cities (does not include surrounding areas/counties) in the U.S.
CITY POPULATION (2005 est.) NBA TEAM
New York, NY 8,143,197 Knicks
Los Angeles, CA 3,844,829 Clippers, Lakers
Chicago, IL 2,842,518 Bulls
Houston, TX 2,016,582 Rockets
Philadelphia, PA 1,463,281 Sixers
Phoenix, AZ 1,461,575 Suns
San Antonio, TX 1,256,509 Spurs
San Diego, CA 1,255,540
Dallas, TX 1,213,825 Mavericks
San Jose, CA 912,332
Detroit, MI 951,270 Pistons
Indianapolis, IN 784,118 Pacers
Jacksonville, FL 782,623
San Francisco, CA 739,426
Columbus, OH 730,657
Austin, TX 690,252
Memphis, TN 672,277 Grizzlies
Baltimore, MD 635,815
Fort Worth, TX 624,067
Charlotte, NC 610,949 Bobcats
El Paso, TX 598,590
Milwaukee, WI 578,887 Bucks
Seattle, WA 573,911 Sonics
Boston, MA 559,034 Celtics
Denver, CO 557,917 Nuggets
Louisville-Jefferson County, KY 556,429
Washington, DC 550,521 Wizards
Nashville-Davidson, TN 549,110
Las Vegas, NV 545,147
Portland, OR 533,427 Trail Blazers
Oklahoma City, OK 531,324
Tucson, AZ 515,526
Albuquerque, NM 494,236
Long Beach, CA 474,014
Atlanta, GA 470,688 Hawks
Fresno, CA 427,652
Sacramento, CA 456,441 Kings
New Orleans, LA 454,863 (pre-Katrina) Hornets
Cleveland, OH 452,208 Cavaliers
Kansas City, MO 444,965
Mesa, AZ 442,780
Virginia Beach, VA 438,415
Omaha, NE 414,521
Oakland, CA 395,274 Warriors
Miami, FL 362,470 Heat
Tulsa, OK 382,457
Honolulu, HI 377,379
Minneapolis, MN 372,811 Timberwolves
Colorado Springs, CO 369,815
Arlington, TX 362,805
(source: http://www.infoplease.com)
Cities not on this list include: Toronto (est. population 2.4M), Orlando (est. population ~ 180K), Salt Lake City (est. population ~ 180K), and East Rutherford, NJ (est. population less than 10K, however Bergen county has an est. population of ~ 885K)
Another way to look at this list - all the cities with no teams are prime candidates for a Maloof move. Although I still think the Vegas Kings would be their first choice; can you imagine the marketing possibilities.
Although officially Sacramento is considered to be a large city (large is defined as population over 250,000) it is not on par with the likes of New York, Dallas or even Memphis. It is not easy being the size of Sacramento and supporting a professional sports franchise, examples abound in the likes of Portland, Atlanta, New Orleans (even before Katrina), and Oakland. But Sacramento fans have always been one of the biggest supporters of their team so this vote is not about support of the team. It is about an aging arena and the possible growth of a community. It is about defining a city.
The impact of this vote will have minimal lasting impact on the politicians; it will have a bit more effect on the players and the coaches of the Kings and even the Maloofs. But they will all just move, not easy, but doable. It is the people of Sacramento, the people that now live in and will continue to live in this city that have the biggest stake in this vote. These are all just my opinions; what are yours, how will you chose?
It’s Your Choice Sacramento
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By C. Sawyer
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Aug 7, 2006, 17:56
Sacramento, known to some as the Capitol of the State of California, gateway to Lake Tahoe, white water rafting and the great outdoors, close to University of California at Davis, and the home of the Sacramento Kings. Sacramento, also known as a city where the levees are just barely holding their own, where there’s not much night life, and where there are a lot of cows.
The people of Sacramento have a choice as to their future and how they want to define their city going forward. Many will say that this one issue, an arena for a basketball team, should not define their city and would ultimately be a waste of taxpayer dollars. Yet ultimately this vote could either give Sacramento a new arena, for more than just basketball, the continuity of a solid professional sports team, and a firm identity, or send the city back to circa 1980.
One of the biggest arguments against the arena has been that there are more important concerns to spend taxpayers’ dollars on. No doubt that is true, however as a taxpayer I have found that the government has never been challenged on finding problems to spend tax dollars on. There will always be needs, from social welfare to highways to funding government payrolls. These needs will continue and will grow and sadly our tax money will never yield a return from this type of spending. It is necessary, yes, but so is the arena.
There have also been many arguments on the costs and benefits, on the spending by the Maloofs versus the city (aka. taxpayers) regarding the arena. Yes, the city will spend more than the Maloofs, yes the Maloofs are most likely getting a better deal than the city, yes there is no guarantee that there will be the types of returns that are being promised, however the city is going to spend money (and waste money) no matter what. And the Maloofs are going to get a good deal on an arena, if not here then somewhere else.
Voting yes on the arena will add a tax burden on the people of this town and ultimately not everyone will use it. However adding the arena will bring additional jobs, construction, retail, and restaurants. The arena will not just be for the Kings. It will draw other performers, other activity, and possibly other types of jobs. It could be the beginning of more construction and even possibly some improvements to the surrounding areas, roads and highways to lessen the congestion. It will not be instantaneous but it will happen. Just look at Los Angeles. The Staples center was built over six years ago, before that no one went downtown, except to the Music Center area. Now there are condos galore, more restaurants, a large-scale retail and restaurant complex being built and a stop on the Blue-line. It can still be scary late after a game, and there is still lot of improvement that needs to come, but it is coming. Without Staples this neighborhood would have continued along its deteriorating path.
Losing out on the arena will ultimately mean a good-bye to the Kings, a possible good-bye to Arco. Without Arco, no concerts, no rodeos, the only events would be government related conventions. The rail yards will remain vacant and toxic. But believe me, there will still be a tax increase, if not for an arena, it will be for something. There will be no construction, no growth.
Just for comparison purposes, below are the Top 50 Cities (does not include surrounding areas/counties) in the U.S.
CITY POPULATION (2005 est.) NBA TEAM
New York, NY 8,143,197 Knicks
Los Angeles, CA 3,844,829 Clippers, Lakers
Chicago, IL 2,842,518 Bulls
Houston, TX 2,016,582 Rockets
Philadelphia, PA 1,463,281 Sixers
Phoenix, AZ 1,461,575 Suns
San Antonio, TX 1,256,509 Spurs
San Diego, CA 1,255,540
Dallas, TX 1,213,825 Mavericks
San Jose, CA 912,332
Detroit, MI 951,270 Pistons
Indianapolis, IN 784,118 Pacers
Jacksonville, FL 782,623
San Francisco, CA 739,426
Columbus, OH 730,657
Austin, TX 690,252
Memphis, TN 672,277 Grizzlies
Baltimore, MD 635,815
Fort Worth, TX 624,067
Charlotte, NC 610,949 Bobcats
El Paso, TX 598,590
Milwaukee, WI 578,887 Bucks
Seattle, WA 573,911 Sonics
Boston, MA 559,034 Celtics
Denver, CO 557,917 Nuggets
Louisville-Jefferson County, KY 556,429
Washington, DC 550,521 Wizards
Nashville-Davidson, TN 549,110
Las Vegas, NV 545,147
Portland, OR 533,427 Trail Blazers
Oklahoma City, OK 531,324
Tucson, AZ 515,526
Albuquerque, NM 494,236
Long Beach, CA 474,014
Atlanta, GA 470,688 Hawks
Fresno, CA 427,652
Sacramento, CA 456,441 Kings
New Orleans, LA 454,863 (pre-Katrina) Hornets
Cleveland, OH 452,208 Cavaliers
Kansas City, MO 444,965
Mesa, AZ 442,780
Virginia Beach, VA 438,415
Omaha, NE 414,521
Oakland, CA 395,274 Warriors
Miami, FL 362,470 Heat
Tulsa, OK 382,457
Honolulu, HI 377,379
Minneapolis, MN 372,811 Timberwolves
Colorado Springs, CO 369,815
Arlington, TX 362,805
(source: http://www.infoplease.com)
Cities not on this list include: Toronto (est. population 2.4M), Orlando (est. population ~ 180K), Salt Lake City (est. population ~ 180K), and East Rutherford, NJ (est. population less than 10K, however Bergen county has an est. population of ~ 885K)
Another way to look at this list - all the cities with no teams are prime candidates for a Maloof move. Although I still think the Vegas Kings would be their first choice; can you imagine the marketing possibilities.
Although officially Sacramento is considered to be a large city (large is defined as population over 250,000) it is not on par with the likes of New York, Dallas or even Memphis. It is not easy being the size of Sacramento and supporting a professional sports franchise, examples abound in the likes of Portland, Atlanta, New Orleans (even before Katrina), and Oakland. But Sacramento fans have always been one of the biggest supporters of their team so this vote is not about support of the team. It is about an aging arena and the possible growth of a community. It is about defining a city.
The impact of this vote will have minimal lasting impact on the politicians; it will have a bit more effect on the players and the coaches of the Kings and even the Maloofs. But they will all just move, not easy, but doable. It is the people of Sacramento, the people that now live in and will continue to live in this city that have the biggest stake in this vote. These are all just my opinions; what are yours, how will you chose?
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