Mark Kreidler: City, Kings playing arena card game

[EmKingsFan4]

Mark Kreidler: City, Kings playing arena card game



By Mark Kreidler -- Bee Columnist
Published 2:15 am PDT Saturday, April 16, 2005


Just now, I think we all can agree, is no time to panic.



One year ago - that would've been a great time to panic.

You want to start worrying over whether the Kings might someday leave Sacramento? Take a ticket and stand in line. Beyond the bluster, beyond the buffoonery and beyond the button-busting credos of local pride - We Don't Need No NBA Team to Validate Our Existence - there have been thinking people mulling that very scenario for some time.

They've been mulling it through Sacramento's explosive failures of civic leadership and the area's inability to get together on a single, supportable position regarding the construction of a new sports arena. They mulled it when the Maloofs, furious at being sandbagged by a last-minute city spending cap, walked out of the City Council meeting last year, and again when the developer-led deal out in North Natomas cratered a few months back.

Now comes Friday's word that the Maloofs are part and parcel of a bid by Las Vegas to host the 2007 NBA All-Star Game, and it has indeed succeeded in setting the cluckers to clucking. On the surface, it's no wonder.

The Maloofs own the Kings. The Maloofs are beginning to own Vegas. The Maloofs can't get a new arena built for them in Sacramento. The Maloofs start angling for NBA action out in the desert.

"One has nothing to do with the other," Joe Maloof said in a telephone interview Friday afternoon. "Vegas is a perfect place to host the All-Star Game, but the Kings to Vegas - that makes no sense."

Still, the recently panicky might feel free to connect the dots for themselves. Just be sure to use blood instead of ink.

But, look, you only need one sentence to wonder about the Kings' future here, and it's the one about the Maloofs and the arena. It has nothing to do with whether Las Vegas gets to host an All-Star Game someday or really wants a pro team to call its own. Sacramento isn't racing against an opponent at this point.

The math really is this simple: If the Kings and the city - or the county, the area, the developers, whomever happens to be at the switch right now - are unable to settle on terms for a new building for the team, the Maloofs will leave. Today, tomorrow, a couple of years.

They'll leave. They'll leave because they can. They'll leave because someone else will build them the place Sacramento just generally doesn't want to. It could be Vegas. It could be somewhere else.

The Maloofs might root with their hearts, but they do business with their heads. That they can't stay at Arco Arena forever is axiomatic. That Sacramento would have to build a new place sooner or later - for everything, not just for the Kings - is a short-to mid-range certainty.

And all of this conversation, every bit, is separate and apart from the Vegas bid for the All-Star Game, which, frankly, the NBA would be nuts to reject. Vegas is gaudy, rich and in love with theatrics. It's an almost perfect fit with a self-promoting exhibitionist like All-Star Weekend - and it has almost nothing to do with an NBA team relocating there permanently.

(By the way, is it any shock the Maloof family would be involved on the All-Star front? You don't think The Palms, with its wing of hotel beds specially designed for NBA-sized players, would come out of that thing swimming in cash?)

NBA Commissioner David Stern has always resisted the idea of a team in Las Vegas. It's problematic on a thousand fronts, beginning with the bookmaking issue (the All-Star Game is a possibility only because the casinos would agree not to take bets on it) and continuing on through the hundreds of all-night opportunities for the league's young, monied stars to find trouble.

For his part, Joe Maloof doesn't believe the NBA will ever award Vegas a team unless all of its casinos agree to take pro basketball off their betting boards, the longest of longshots. I don't think Stern can fend off Las Vegas forever - like Sacramento, it's one of the most promising growth regions in the West - but we're still years and years away from the NBA even considering a permanent franchise hard by The Strip.

Sacramento's arena minidrama will have played itself to complete exhaustion long before Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman gets his wish for a pro team.

And that brings us back to where we are, which is in the thick middle of it. Somewhat amazingly, considering the sequence of events this week (Kings make unscheduled $12 million payment on city loan; owners suddenly help Las Vegas in All-Star bid), some folks well involved in the arena discussions suggested Friday that another plan for a new place in Sacramento could be forthcoming rather soon.

"I think Angelo is still working on some things," Joe Maloof said, referring to Angelo Tsakopoulos, the well-connected local mega-developer. "Things are creeping along."

Like the previous plans, reasonable people might well disagree on the point of this latest try. There will always be issues, be they of the zoning, environmental or philosophical variety. Some very smart humans whom I admire greatly are adamantly opposed to public funding of an arena to benefit private owners, no matter what the level.

That's fine - so long as everyone understands the rules. The rules are these: (1) Sacramento has every right to refuse to build a shiny new bauble for the Maloofs, citing any number of reasons; (2) The Maloofs, if they can't get here the kind of deal they can get elsewhere, will go ... elsewhere. That is the game, almost entirely. It's the same game the city and the Kings were playing long before Friday. If anyone feels like worrying now, they've got some catching up to do.

http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/12735289p-13587091c.html

 

[Bricklayer]

Sacramento isn't racing against an opponent at this point.

The math really is this simple: If the Kings and the city - or the county, the area, the developers, whomever happens to be at the switch right now - are unable to settle on terms for a new building for the team, the Maloofs will leave. Today, tomorrow, a couple of years.

They'll leave. They'll leave because they can. They'll leave because someone else will build them the place Sacramento just generally doesn't want to. It could be Vegas. It could be somewhere else.

nutshell.

 

[EmKingsFan4]

I'm not really sure what to say to this article....My heart would be absolutely broken to see the Kings leave Sac, and I think the Maloofs would be crazy to move them considering the fanbase they've gathered in Sac, which no other city would be able to match.
I do also think that building a new arena is not just for the Maloofs but for the future of the city of Sacramento. We really have to resolve this issue quickly because I'm really tired of this emotional rollercoaster and if we are building a new arena we need to get things going, if we're not then we need to plan to kiss our beloved team goodbye.

 

[Lurknomo]

If, in the long run, this arena deal never gets done and the Kings do leave, then the mayor and city counsil ought to go with them. The whole group should be ashamed of themselves for being so smalltown and without vision of the big picture. I hope somebody can rise up again with something that works. It doen't need to be 100% private $ to build, just a compromise between public, private and the Maloofs.

 

[mr. moustache]

Our children are ignorant. Schools have no money. Undeveloped land is good for the environment, etc. If you have anything to blame, it's player salaries. I'm sick of millionaires asking for public money. Same goes for a lot of big business subsidies(farming, manufacturing)

You want a big picture? Basketball means nothing. Go Kings.

If, in the long run, this arena deal never gets done and the Kings do leave, then the mayor and city counsil ought to go with them. The whole group should be ashamed of themselves for being so smalltown and without vision of the big picture. I hope somebody can rise up again with something that works. It doen't need to be 100% private $ to build, just a compromise between public, private and the Maloofs.

 

[Bricklayer]

Our children are ignorant. Schools have no money. Undeveloped land is good for the environment, etc. If you have anything to blame, it's player salaries. I'm sick of millionaires asking for public money. Same goes for a lot of big business subsidies(farming, manufacturing)

You want a big picture? Basketball means nothing. Go Kings.

I, on the other hand, am tired of people asking millionaires to entertain them at the millionaires' own expense. By almost all accounts a sports franchise is nto a very good investment, and many of these millionaires actually lose money on the deal (and certainly lose money on the opportunity cost of not putting their resources into a better investment). A relatively small group of Kings fans directly pay money to the Kings, and they always get something back. You pay for a ticket, you get a seat at the game. Most of your money goes to pay one of the players you watch. You buy a jersey, you get a jersey to wear etc. And most fans are basically freeloaders most of the year, and contribute only via interest which might make advertisers pay more for ads etc. (a hard to measure trickle down effect). In any case, its free entertainment to the 90+% who watch the games on TV + read/talk about them in the papers and on the itnernet. Now if on top of that you want the Maloofs to go off and build you a $300 million dollar building to house your entertainment in, you damn well better be willing to pay for at least some of it as well.

A $300 million arena is above and beyond the direct I-give-you-money-you-give-me-a-ticket basics, and certianly above the I-give-you-nothing-but-my-affection-and-you-entertain-me masses. Those relationships work fine for the day to day and year to year operation of the franchise. But now you are talking about an investment equal to 1/3 of the most optimistic estimates of the Maloofs' net worth, and an investment in what might well be the least profitable arm of the Maloofs entire empire.

 

[Team Dime]

Our children are ignorant. Schools have no money. Undeveloped land is good for the environment, etc. If you have anything to blame, it's player salaries. I'm sick of millionaires asking for public money. Same goes for a lot of big business subsidies(farming, manufacturing)

You want a big picture? Basketball means nothing. Go Kings.

That is such an idealistic view that is not applicable to the real world. So what do you think the answer is, to just do away with pro sports in general since they sometimes come at the expense of other things? Maybe we should all go back to living among the animals.

The bottom line is that the Kings are the only thing Sacramento has. The city has to find a way to get a new arena, if it doesn't then it will truly become nothing but a cowtown just like Shaq said.

 

[VF21]

That is such an idealistic view that is not applicable to the real world. So what do you think the answer is, to just do away with pro sports in general since they sometimes come at the expense of other things? Maybe we should all go back to living among the animals.

The bottom line is that the Kings are the only thing Sacramento has. The city has to find a way to get a new arena, if it doesn't then it will truly become nothing but a cowtown just like Shaq said.

WORD!

 

[JB_kings]

Our children are ignorant. Schools have no money. Undeveloped land is good for the environment, etc. If you have anything to blame, it's player salaries. I'm sick of millionaires asking for public money. Same goes for a lot of big business subsidies(farming, manufacturing)

You want a big picture? Basketball means nothing. Go Kings.

No offense, but this is idealistic crap. Childrens education has nothing to do with a new arena. School bond votes come up all the time and sometimes they win and sometimes they don't. They are however completely separate from the arena issue. So please, if you are all wound up over education, start working through your local city council about getting school bond issues on the ballot. Also, the land being talked about will be re-zoned for development sooner or later. The people the own the land have no intention of growing crops or opening up wildlife preserves. The bought it to develop it. You have an option here, you can buy up the land yourself and let it sit idle or start a campaign to have the city or feds buy up the land to keep it open. Good luck with that.

 

[mr. moustache]

I hear you. The Maloof's could run this business like Donald Sterling. THey would be making better money. I just think the players are overpaid. If Shaq's making 10 Million a year, and you scale it down from there.. I think you have a healthier system. The game is so much more than a game now. I personally feel it's been sullied. NOt everyone agrees.

I, on the other hand, am tired of people asking millionaires to entertain them at the millionaires' own expense. By almost all accounts a sports franchise is nto a very good investment, and many of these millionaires actually lose money on the deal (and certainly lose money on the opportunity cost of not putting their resources into a better investment). A relatively small group of Kings fans directly pay money to the Kings, and they always get something back. You pay for a ticket, you get a seat at the game. Most of your money goes to pay one of the players you watch. You buy a jersey, you get a jersey to wear etc. And most fans are basically freeloaders most of the year, and contribute only via interest which might make advertisers pay more for ads etc. (a hard to measure trickle down effect). In any case, its free entertainment to the 90+% who watch the games on TV + read/talk about them in the papers and on the itnernet. Now if on top of that you want the Maloofs to go off and build you a $300 million dollar building to house your entertainment in, you damn well better be willing to pay for at least some of it as well.

A $300 million arena is above and beyond the direct I-give-you-money-you-give-me-a-ticket basics, and certianly above the I-give-you-nothing-but-my-affection-and-you-entertain-me masses. Those relationships work fine for the day to day and year to year operation of the franchise. But now you are talking about an investment equal to 1/3 of the most optimistic estimates of the Maloofs' net worth, and an investment in what might well be the least profitable arm of the Maloofs entire empire.

 

[mr. moustache]

It is idealistic crap. I never stated it wasn't. I'm just glad I don't live in Sacramento. If a pro sports franchise is the source of your city's self esteem.. it's a sad thing. Here in Seattle we've seen the city fund the Seahawks, Sonics, and Mariners. Personally, I'd prefer my city spending money on the arts, education, environment, etc. Whatever. That's why we vote.

No offense, but this is idealistic crap. Childrens education has nothing to do with a new arena. School bond votes come up all the time and sometimes they win and sometimes they don't. They are however completely separate from the arena issue. So please, if you are all wound up over education, start working through your local city council about getting school bond issues on the ballot. Also, the land being talked about will be re-zoned for development sooner or later. The people the own the land have no intention of growing crops or opening up wildlife preserves. The bought it to develop it. You have an option here, you can buy up the land yourself and let it sit idle or start a campaign to have the city or feds buy up the land to keep it open. Good luck with that.

 

[JB_kings]

The problem today is that all the movement behind the scenes is leading to a bunch of nothing coming from either the Maloofs, city leaders or the businessmen involved. I understand that completely since part of the problem has been half baked schemes being rushed. However, then we are left to fill in the blanks with media stories like Kriedler's article. So some folks are filling in the blanks with curious loan payments and the owners of the Kings actively involved with getting an NBA related event staged in another city. So people have the right to be confused, paranoid, uninformed because generally that's what weve been served up.
My hope is that they are hammering out a rock solid plan to revise the re-zoning trade off and are ready to inform us that whatever money coming from the public will come in the form of a user tax. When you present people with the facts that this deal doesn't hit them in the wallet unless they choose to attend an event at the arena. That's when the paranoia being spewed from axe grinding guys like RE Graswich are going to go away. That big empty gap is unfortunately being filled with negative and unreliable information right now. And that's what is sad.

 

[VF21]

mr.moustache - Sports, the arts, etc. do NOT have to be mutually exclusive. In fact, Chris Webber worked very actively with the Crocker Art Museum AND still has a large portion of his collection on loan there.

There has to be balance, IMHO. Balance and diversity are what makes a place unique.

 

[Alacron]

It is idealistic crap. I never stated it wasn't. I'm just glad I don't live in Sacramento. If a pro sports franchise is the source of your city's self esteem.. it's a sad thing. Here in Seattle we've seen the city fund the Seahawks, Sonics, and Mariners. Personally, I'd prefer my city spending money on the arts, education, environment, etc. Whatever. That's why we vote.

I really don't understand what that means at all. I mean, each sentence makes sense in itself, but that collection of sentences doesn't go together.

And in any case, tax money which goes to "education" doesn't necessarily wind up in the classroom... personally I'd rather help fund a Kings arena than pay for an school district administrator's $300 office chair.
~~

 

[Sparky]

There have always been those who complain about the salaries of pro athletes, or stars of the big screen or music. I think these people tend to forget/ignore a few things:
1 Over 17,000 people go to Arco Arena for every Kings home game. Many thousands more watch the game on tv or VF21's pbp thread : ) That's bringing entertainment to a LOT of people.

2 How do you choose to compensate those who are the BEST IN THE WORLD at what they do. The NBA players we watch are the cream of the world's crop of basketball athletes.

Personally, I believe pro sports has an incredibly fair contract system. To compare to education: A crappy player can't dodge the bullet long enough to get tenure, then bilk the system for 30 years torturing one class of students after another with their undeserved arrogance and meager teaching skills. In pro sports, poor performers are dumped in favor of better ones. And only the best make the biggest bucks. It should also be noted, pro athletes have a very short career window as compared to other forms of employment. Does an accountant have to retire at 35 years of age with a damaged body?