Natomas group wants new arena at Arco site
http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/2512036.html
By Tony Bizjak
tbizjak@sacbee.com
Published: Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 1A
Why move the arena at all?
That's the question swelling in Natomas amid all the talk about erecting an arena for the Kings in Sacramento's downtown railyard as the catalyst for a new urban center.
For 20 years, Arco Arena has loomed large on the Natomas landscape – bringing in Kings fans, concertgoers and their spending dollars – and Natomas business leaders have no intention of letting that asset go without a fight.
In answer to Mayor Kevin Johnson's call for ideas for a new sports and entertainment complex to replace aging Arco, a Natomas business group has pitched an ambitious plan to reinvent the 180-acre Arco site. As envisioned, a new arena, slightly north of Arco, would be surrounded by stores, restaurants, entertainment venues, a hotel and a cinema.
"It's a location that has been tried, tested and proven to work," said Marni Leger, a magazine publisher who is leading the Natomas chamber's "Keep the Arena in Natomas" committee. "All the talk was about moving an arena somewhere else. We felt to have a voice in this discussion, the minimum we had to do was have a proposal."
The group faces an uphill battle.
Five of the seven proposals submitted in response to the mayor would put a new arena downtown. NBA officials and the Kings owners have thrown their weight behind one of those plans, a complex land swap that would put an arena downtown, move the state fairgrounds at Cal Expo to the current Arco site and turn Cal Expo over to private developers.
And while city leaders haven't taken a position on the proposals yet, they've talked for years about the possibility of kick-starting redevelopment of the vacant downtown railyard expanse by locating an arena there.
Johnson has commissioned a task force to review the proposals and bring a recommendation March 11 on where and how to build a facility to replace Arco.
The Natomas group, Natomas ESC Partners, along with architect Michael Corrick and several developers, turned in its proposal 15 minutes before Johnson's Christmas Eve deadline. NBBJ architects – designers of Los Angeles' Staples Center – did conceptual drawings for the plan.
It calls for a complete reinvention of the Arco site, part of which is owned by the city, part by the Kings. Besides the arena and retail offerings, the group proposes a "green tech" research and office park on the site and a small "car-reduced" residential community next to what may be a future light-rail station.
The old arena would stay, possibly as a green tech science center. Its roof and the downsized parking lot would be lined with solar panels. A greenbelt and wetlands would wind through the center of the site.
The goal, said Scott Hunter of NBBJ, is to use advanced technology to heat and cool the arena and other facilities. "We wanted to propose something unique to this site that you couldn't do in a downtown site," Hunter said.
Notably absent from the proposal is any detailed plan for financing for what looks to be a multibillion-dollar concept.
Natomas ESC Partners has listed possible revenue sources. But most of those involve proceeds from arena operations – revenue the Maloof family, which owns the Kings, has been unwilling to give up in past financing discussions.
Natomas group spokesman Jeff Baize of Brookhurst Development Corp. said it's impossible to come up with a financing plan until Kings officials, the city and developers sit down to negotiate.
Baize said he guesses an arena at Arco could be 30 percent less expensive to build than downtown because roads and parking already are in place.
He said his group is unhappy that the NBA tilted the playing field by announcing support for another proposal before looking through all submissions. The Natomas site remains a favorite with many Kings fans, who like the easy freeway access and ample, if costly, parking.
By comparison, Leger warned, the NBA-backed proposal from local developer Gerry Kamilos – with its multiple moving parts – appears "far-fetched."
NBA officials have said they like the Kamilos proposal in part because it comes with commitments from deep-pocketed financial backers that the other proposals lack.
City Councilman Ray Tretheway said this week he has contacted the NBA to set up a conference call about the Natomas plan.
The proposal faces other challenges.
The suburban site virtually requires arena users to arrive in cars. Sacramento transportation planners say major new developments, especially an arena, should be linked to light-rail and bus systems.
A light-rail line is planned for nearby Truxel Road with a stop six-minutes walking distance from the proposed arena. RT officials, however, do not have the money to build the line now.
If Natomas advocates hope to win a Natomas vs. downtown turf war, they also must persuade city officials the Arco site can match a downtown arena in spurring retail growth and cultural vitality.
Natomas advocate Leger contends the city can offer that boost downtown other ways, such as a theater district, that won't harm Natomas.
"There is a very real fear here of what will happen to businesses," she said, "if we end up with a hole in the ground."
http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/2512036.html
By Tony Bizjak
tbizjak@sacbee.com
Published: Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 1A
Why move the arena at all?
That's the question swelling in Natomas amid all the talk about erecting an arena for the Kings in Sacramento's downtown railyard as the catalyst for a new urban center.
For 20 years, Arco Arena has loomed large on the Natomas landscape – bringing in Kings fans, concertgoers and their spending dollars – and Natomas business leaders have no intention of letting that asset go without a fight.
In answer to Mayor Kevin Johnson's call for ideas for a new sports and entertainment complex to replace aging Arco, a Natomas business group has pitched an ambitious plan to reinvent the 180-acre Arco site. As envisioned, a new arena, slightly north of Arco, would be surrounded by stores, restaurants, entertainment venues, a hotel and a cinema.
"It's a location that has been tried, tested and proven to work," said Marni Leger, a magazine publisher who is leading the Natomas chamber's "Keep the Arena in Natomas" committee. "All the talk was about moving an arena somewhere else. We felt to have a voice in this discussion, the minimum we had to do was have a proposal."
The group faces an uphill battle.
Five of the seven proposals submitted in response to the mayor would put a new arena downtown. NBA officials and the Kings owners have thrown their weight behind one of those plans, a complex land swap that would put an arena downtown, move the state fairgrounds at Cal Expo to the current Arco site and turn Cal Expo over to private developers.
And while city leaders haven't taken a position on the proposals yet, they've talked for years about the possibility of kick-starting redevelopment of the vacant downtown railyard expanse by locating an arena there.
Johnson has commissioned a task force to review the proposals and bring a recommendation March 11 on where and how to build a facility to replace Arco.
The Natomas group, Natomas ESC Partners, along with architect Michael Corrick and several developers, turned in its proposal 15 minutes before Johnson's Christmas Eve deadline. NBBJ architects – designers of Los Angeles' Staples Center – did conceptual drawings for the plan.
It calls for a complete reinvention of the Arco site, part of which is owned by the city, part by the Kings. Besides the arena and retail offerings, the group proposes a "green tech" research and office park on the site and a small "car-reduced" residential community next to what may be a future light-rail station.
The old arena would stay, possibly as a green tech science center. Its roof and the downsized parking lot would be lined with solar panels. A greenbelt and wetlands would wind through the center of the site.
The goal, said Scott Hunter of NBBJ, is to use advanced technology to heat and cool the arena and other facilities. "We wanted to propose something unique to this site that you couldn't do in a downtown site," Hunter said.
Notably absent from the proposal is any detailed plan for financing for what looks to be a multibillion-dollar concept.
Natomas ESC Partners has listed possible revenue sources. But most of those involve proceeds from arena operations – revenue the Maloof family, which owns the Kings, has been unwilling to give up in past financing discussions.
Natomas group spokesman Jeff Baize of Brookhurst Development Corp. said it's impossible to come up with a financing plan until Kings officials, the city and developers sit down to negotiate.
Baize said he guesses an arena at Arco could be 30 percent less expensive to build than downtown because roads and parking already are in place.
He said his group is unhappy that the NBA tilted the playing field by announcing support for another proposal before looking through all submissions. The Natomas site remains a favorite with many Kings fans, who like the easy freeway access and ample, if costly, parking.
By comparison, Leger warned, the NBA-backed proposal from local developer Gerry Kamilos – with its multiple moving parts – appears "far-fetched."
NBA officials have said they like the Kamilos proposal in part because it comes with commitments from deep-pocketed financial backers that the other proposals lack.
City Councilman Ray Tretheway said this week he has contacted the NBA to set up a conference call about the Natomas plan.
The proposal faces other challenges.
The suburban site virtually requires arena users to arrive in cars. Sacramento transportation planners say major new developments, especially an arena, should be linked to light-rail and bus systems.
A light-rail line is planned for nearby Truxel Road with a stop six-minutes walking distance from the proposed arena. RT officials, however, do not have the money to build the line now.
If Natomas advocates hope to win a Natomas vs. downtown turf war, they also must persuade city officials the Arco site can match a downtown arena in spurring retail growth and cultural vitality.
Natomas advocate Leger contends the city can offer that boost downtown other ways, such as a theater district, that won't harm Natomas.
"There is a very real fear here of what will happen to businesses," she said, "if we end up with a hole in the ground."
