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VIRGINIA BEACH
The proposal to build a $350 million arena near the Virginia Beach Oceanfront to attract an NBA team is moving forward with behind-the-scenes meetings. Mayor Will Sessoms said he plans to update the City Council on Tuesday.
A representative of an NBA team eyeing a move to Virginia Beach has had meetings in Richmond with Gov. Bob McDonnell and the city, according to Warren Harris, the city's director of economic development.
Harris declined to say which team.
Two sources who were at a city department director meeting last Thursday said Harris gave a brief update on the arena and told the group that Sessoms and the governor had recently had meetings with the ownership of the Sacramento Kings and mentioned the Maloof family, which owns the team, by name.
Those sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the politically sensitive nature of the project. Harris denied mentioning the Kings or the Maloofs at the meeting.
"I did not disclose the name of the team or the name of team ownership," he said.
Sessoms and a spokesman for McDonnell declined to comment on the meetings with the NBA team's representatives.
Harris said the team that met with the governor and the city is interested in coming to Virginia Beach.
"Virginia Beach is the city in which they are highly interested in, and in comparing their options today, Virginia Beach would be one of their top choices," he said.
Since August, when the plan surfaced, sources have said the target tenant for the arena is the NBA's Kings. A spokesman for the Kings, Tony Hanson, wrote in an email Wednesday: "We have been contacted over the years by several cities and parties interested in the Kings organization. However, we are not going to comment on rumors regarding relocation of the franchise."
City officials also briefed Virginia Beach's General Assembly delegation on the arena on Oct. 25. The briefing was a general update, Del. Ron Villanueva said and that the delegation has yet to get a specific request from the city about what state support might be sought for the arena.
"It just comes down to numbers, and we're waiting," Villanueva said.
"It was really broad brush," Del. Sal Iaquinto said. "It was, 'Hey, we need to meet with you to let you know where we're at, and we might need to meet with you again.' "
The city is touting to state officials an economic impact report that showed the statewide impact of an NBA team in Virginia Beach would be almost $503 million a year, including almost $11 million annually in state tax revenue and the creation of 3,700 jobs.
The Beach is negotiating with media and sports giant Comcast-Spectacor to build the 18,500-seat arena near the Virginia Beach Convention Center. Comcast would lease and operate the building for 25 years. The parties are working on a term sheet to present to the City Council later this year or early next year.
Sessoms has said he wants any deal to be structured so revenue from the building pays its debt service.
A second study on the economic impact of the arena on the city is scheduled to be presented to the City Council on Tuesday. The council ordered it to check numbers in a study done by Old Dominion University economics professor James Koch. Koch's study said that starting in 2015, the arena would host 200 events a year with 1.3 million attendees. It said the arena would create 1,230 jobs while generating $98 million in revenue in 2015, including $66 million in Virginia Beach.
VIRGINIA BEACH
The proposal to build a $350 million arena near the Virginia Beach Oceanfront to attract an NBA team is moving forward with behind-the-scenes meetings. Mayor Will Sessoms said he plans to update the City Council on Tuesday.
A representative of an NBA team eyeing a move to Virginia Beach has had meetings in Richmond with Gov. Bob McDonnell and the city, according to Warren Harris, the city's director of economic development.
Harris declined to say which team.
Two sources who were at a city department director meeting last Thursday said Harris gave a brief update on the arena and told the group that Sessoms and the governor had recently had meetings with the ownership of the Sacramento Kings and mentioned the Maloof family, which owns the team, by name.
Those sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the politically sensitive nature of the project. Harris denied mentioning the Kings or the Maloofs at the meeting.
"I did not disclose the name of the team or the name of team ownership," he said.
Sessoms and a spokesman for McDonnell declined to comment on the meetings with the NBA team's representatives.
Harris said the team that met with the governor and the city is interested in coming to Virginia Beach.
"Virginia Beach is the city in which they are highly interested in, and in comparing their options today, Virginia Beach would be one of their top choices," he said.
Since August, when the plan surfaced, sources have said the target tenant for the arena is the NBA's Kings. A spokesman for the Kings, Tony Hanson, wrote in an email Wednesday: "We have been contacted over the years by several cities and parties interested in the Kings organization. However, we are not going to comment on rumors regarding relocation of the franchise."
City officials also briefed Virginia Beach's General Assembly delegation on the arena on Oct. 25. The briefing was a general update, Del. Ron Villanueva said and that the delegation has yet to get a specific request from the city about what state support might be sought for the arena.
"It just comes down to numbers, and we're waiting," Villanueva said.
"It was really broad brush," Del. Sal Iaquinto said. "It was, 'Hey, we need to meet with you to let you know where we're at, and we might need to meet with you again.' "
The city is touting to state officials an economic impact report that showed the statewide impact of an NBA team in Virginia Beach would be almost $503 million a year, including almost $11 million annually in state tax revenue and the creation of 3,700 jobs.
The Beach is negotiating with media and sports giant Comcast-Spectacor to build the 18,500-seat arena near the Virginia Beach Convention Center. Comcast would lease and operate the building for 25 years. The parties are working on a term sheet to present to the City Council later this year or early next year.
Sessoms has said he wants any deal to be structured so revenue from the building pays its debt service.
A second study on the economic impact of the arena on the city is scheduled to be presented to the City Council on Tuesday. The council ordered it to check numbers in a study done by Old Dominion University economics professor James Koch. Koch's study said that starting in 2015, the arena would host 200 events a year with 1.3 million attendees. It said the arena would create 1,230 jobs while generating $98 million in revenue in 2015, including $66 million in Virginia Beach.
