The Arena (merged)

CruzDude

Senior Member sharing a brew with bajaden
#1
This is a topic that will never go away until Sacramento AND the surrounding area realizes the overall benefits of a downtown arena. The benefits to everyone. And the realization that the Kings are only one tenant and only for about 25%-30% of the dates most arenas have.

Downtown arenas in Denver, Phoenix, Salt Lake and many more are attractions for locals, easy to get to and have many other things to do within walking distance. The old rail yard has every transport mode at its door step from every direction. The parking lots at the outer ends of the light rail hold hundreds of cars and rail lines extend in 4 directions.

The musical and stage shows love downtown as it gets a wider section of the local population.

Awww, come on guys, work it out. You politicians can become heros with this, a lot better than the "goat" tags you have so far. ;)
 
#3
new arena financing plan

from today's Sacramento Business Journal:

http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2004/08/30/daily44.html?t=printable
New arena finance plan: Use nonprofit to sell land

Kelly Johnson, Sacramento Business Journal, 9-3-04

Local business and political figures on Friday unveiled a plan to finance a new sports arena for the Sacramento Kings that would create a nonprofit organization to accept donations of land in the area north of North Natomas, sell it and use the proceeds to pay for construction.

The proposal calls for the owners of some 10,000 acres in the area -- including some of the region's largest developers -- to donate 20 percent of their holdings there to the new organization. Based on estimates that land that has been zoned and otherwise readied for development could go for $300,000 an acre, such a plan could conceivably raise as much as $600 million.

The Kings would lease the arena from the new nonprofit, which would retain ownership of the arena. Backers of the new plan say it could generate up to $10 million a year for charitable purposes.

It could also accelerate development in the area, assuming voters approve the proposal.

Sacramento County Sheriff Lou Blanas presented the proposal Friday alongside Matt Mahood, president of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, and David Townsend of Townsend Raimundo Besler & Usher.

The germ of the idea was born about a month ago, as Blanas and local development giant Angelo Tsakopoulos rode together to Sacramento International Airport for separate trips to Europe, Blanas said Friday.

 
#4
interesting idea, but sounds a little too reliant upon a lot of groups coming together... i don't know of any other arena (NBA or other) that's been financed by something similiar ... anyone heard of something like this getting done before?
 
#5
thedofd said:
from today's Sacramento Business Journal:

http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2004/08/30/daily44.html?t=printable
New arena finance plan: Use nonprofit to sell land

Kelly Johnson, Sacramento Business Journal, 9-3-04

Local business and political figures on Friday unveiled a plan to finance a new sports arena for the Sacramento Kings that would create a nonprofit organization to accept donations of land in the area north of North Natomas, sell it and use the proceeds to pay for construction.

The proposal calls for the owners of some 10,000 acres in the area -- including some of the region's largest developers -- to donate 20 percent of their holdings there to the new organization. Based on estimates that land that has been zoned and otherwise readied for development could go for $300,000 an acre, such a plan could conceivably raise as much as $600 million.

The Kings would lease the arena from the new nonprofit, which would retain ownership of the arena. Backers of the new plan say it could generate up to $10 million a year for charitable purposes.

It could also accelerate development in the area, assuming voters approve the proposal.

Sacramento County Sheriff Lou Blanas presented the proposal Friday alongside Matt Mahood, president of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, and David Townsend of Townsend Raimundo Besler & Usher.

The germ of the idea was born about a month ago, as Blanas and local development giant Angelo Tsakopoulos rode together to Sacramento International Airport for separate trips to Europe, Blanas said Friday.
Below is the full Version
===========================
New arena finance plan: Use nonprofit to sell land

Kelly Johnson
Staff writer
[font=Times New Roman,Times,Serif]Local business and political figures on Friday unveiled a plan to finance a new sports arena for the Sacramento Kings that would create a nonprofit organization to accept donations of land in the area north of North Natomas, sell it and use the proceeds to pay for construction.

The proposal calls for the owners of some 10,000 acres in the area -- including some of the region's largest developers -- to donate 20 percent of their holdings there to the new organization. Based on estimates that land that has been zoned and otherwise readied for development could go for $300,000 an acre, such a plan could conceivably raise as much as $600 million.

The Kings would lease the arena from the new nonprofit, which would retain ownership of the arena. Backers of the new plan say it could generate up to $10 million a year for charitable purposes.

It could also accelerate development in the area, assuming voters approve the proposal.

Sacramento County Sheriff Lou Blanas presented the proposal Friday alongside Matt Mahood, president of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, and David Townsend of the Townsend Raimundo Besler & Usher public relations and political consulting firm.

The germ of the idea was born about a month ago, as Blanas and local development giant Angelo Tsakopoulos rode together to Sacramento International Airport for separate trips to Europe, Blanas said Friday.

"I'm a huge Kings fan," Blanas said. "I think the Maloof family has done a lot of good for Sacramento" and has "put us on the map nationally."

He had hoped plans for a new arena could be worked out at the local government level, but that hasn't happened and public financing appears unlikely, he said.

The continuing arena saga

A flurry of activity revived talks about a downtown arena over the summer. But talks between the city of Sacramento and Maloof Sports & Entertainment about a public subsidy for a new arena apparently ended in July when the City Council decided to ask voters in March if the city should pursue a downtown arena with city financing capped at $175 million.

Maloof Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Kings, Sacramento Monarchs and Arco, protested the limit, saying the scope of the project should be negotiated.

Sacramento Kings co-owner Joe Maloof later said the club won't pay more than 20 percent of the cost of the new arena it wants, a figure less than half of what city officials expect from the franchise.

A week ago Blanas proposed his idea to Sacramento City Manager Bob Thomas. "He was very excited about it," Blanas said.

The Kings organization had little to say on the proposal Friday. "We've gone back to running our business at Arco Arena to the best of our ability," said John Thomas, president of Maloof Sports & Entertainment.

Bob Thomas could not be reached for comment Friday.

On Thursday, Blanas met with three of the main Natomas property owners: Tsakopoulos, Enlow Ose and Steve Thurtle of Richland Planned Communities Inc. Blanas said they liked the idea. Five local land-use attorneys also heard the proposal. "Conceptually, they were all nodding," Blanas said. "Nobody stood up and said, 'Hey, this isn't going to work.' "

Blanas hopes all the Natomas landowners would participate, providing a total of 2,000 acres to be sold to fund a new arena. The incentive for developers to donate is that the city would expedite development of their remaining Natomas land.

The 10,000-acre tract in question, dubbed the "joint vision area," is located north of the city's incorporated part of North Natomas. Sacramento city and county have a tentative plan that would allow 10,000 acres in the unincorporated area to eventually become part of the city. The city and county would share revenue from development of the area, and the two governments are working toward a final agreement.

Part of the joint vision agreement calls for setting aside one acre of permanent open space for every acre developed. That wouldn't change, Blanas said, without a two-thirds approval from voters.

The major landowners include Tsakopoulos. He holds 1,400 acres, so a 20 percent donation would be 280 acres. Also among major landowners are Toronto-based Brookfield Properties Corp., Ose and Richland Planned Communities, one of the most active land developers on the Highway 65 corridor in Roseville.

No site specified

Blanas had no estimate for when the land could be sold and a new arena could be built.

The arena funding proposal would be laid out in detail before Sacramento County voters, most likely in a special election, Townsend said.

This arena funding idea does not propose a location for the arena. The amount of money that could be raised might conceivably put some downtown sites in play that had previously faced opposition as too expensive.

The city has three or four sites in consideration, Blanas noted.

"The idea in concept is very refreshing and intriguing and we want to hear more detail," said Mahood, who first heard the idea through the rumor mill on Thursday.

"Believe me, this is just in the first baby steps," Blanas said.

But North Natomas is the vehicle to try to help save the Kings, he said. "Here is a way we think we can privately fund the arena," Blanas said.

[/font]Staff writer Mike McCarthy contributed to this report



© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.
 
#6
Its an interesting article. Seems a bit sad that our Sherrif has to get something like this on the table then our own City Council.

The numbers seem just a bit high. Im not sure you can get that much. if you do the cost of living there would be insane!:eek:
 

CruzDude

Senior Member sharing a brew with bajaden
#7
If it sounds too good to be true.......

Quite a pie in the sky proposition. Does anyone have a clue if the land owners have any interest in "donating" even some of that land? And if it worked out the non-profit would sell the land, get the money and contribute to the construction of an arena. Then who would own the arena? If the Maloofs kick in $120M, they would own say 30% but who would own the rest? Sounds like management by committee :rolleyes:

So, you know what they say, if it sounds too goo to be true then it usually is.
 
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#8
Why not build it next to arco, they have this chunk of land next to it that could be used for parking...The old arco they could use it for the performers who come here..or better yet..turn it to a 3 story Costco!!!
 
#10
CruzDude said:
Quite a pie in the sky proposition. Does anyone have a clue if the land owners have any interest in "donating" even some of that land? And if it worked out the non-profit would sell the land, get the money and contribute to the construction of an arena. Then who would own the arena? If the Maloofs kick in $120M, they would own say 30% but who would own the rest? Sounds like management by committee :rolleyes:

So, you know what they say, if it sounds too goo to be true then it usually isn't.
The owners of the land are going to be all for this. The key here is the re-zoning. If it's currently zoned as farm land, they can't do anything but farm on it. If it gets re-zoned for business or residential, then the value of an acre goes through the roof. Think about the cost of new homes in the Sacramento area. $300,000 an acre can turn into 5 or 6 houses selling for $400-500,000 each. Even after "donating" the proceeds to the non-profit entity, they would rolling in the cash. Yes some folks will get very rich off this deal. But it's an easier sell than talking creative taxes.
 
#11
Anywhere in the Natomas area is bad news for downtown because the Maloofs and friends will build a ton of commercial business sites around the arena and siphon business from downtown. That's why Fargo is so hot on downtown sites. Hell, the Downtown Plaza is on rocky ground right now with decreased sales. The Maloofs are holding more cards than the city when you look long term.
 
#12
The Freak said:
Why not build it next to arco, they have this chunk of land next to it that could be used for parking...The old arco they could use it for the performers who come here..or better yet..turn it to a 3 story Costco!!!
There are still a small number of downtown sites under consideration. The land next to Arco is the last option. If the Blanas plan works out, they will have more than enough to build downtown. The 100 acres north of Arco could be sold off by the city and the current arena and parking lot could be sold off by the Maloofs and likely go towards paying off the debt.
 
#13
Sounds like sort of an extension of Lukenbill's motive for bringing the Kings to Sacramento, to open the Natomas area for development. This could take that one step further, turning Natomas into what downtown should be.
 
#14
Deals?

Angelo Tsakopoulos and Alex Spanos are both well-known Greek-Americans. Alex Spanos is one of the most generous and forward-thinking citizens of the northern State. He routinely provides financial support for civic projects in Stockton and Sacramento. Angelo Tsakopoulos has a somewhat different reputation regarding Sacramento community affairs. The walnut shells may start sliding about the table. Everyone needs to pay attention.
 
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#15
Without a doubt there are motives beyond just building a new arena. Some of these land owners obviously tried this back in 2002 and the city didn't want to deal with the environmentalists. Bringing the non-profit angle into this for a new arena also has some potential money making possibilities for those involved. Non-profit doesn't mean that there aren't salaries paid and contracts awarded. There are definitely some people drooling over the potential of this. But I for one realize that this is not out of the norm for private business dealing with government. The city has the opportunity to grow and reap the rewards of growth and build public facilities that enrich the quality of life in the region. If city residents and fans were looking for a way to build the new arena without using taxes to pay for it, this is an interesting idea.
 
#16
quick dog said:
Angelo Tsakopoulos and Alex Spanos are both well-known Greek-Americans. Alex Spanos is one of the most generous and forward-thinking citizens of the northern State. He routinely provides financial support for civic projects in Stockton and Sacramento. Angelo Tsakopoulos has a somewhat different reputation regarding Sacramento community affairs. The walnut shells may start sliding about the table. Everyone needs to pay attention.
Isn't Mr Tsakopoulos the guy who burned his house down to get the insurance then fled to Greece?... im guessing that must've been a different Sac area Greek-American;)
 
#17
JoMama said:
Anywhere in the Natomas area is bad news for downtown because the Maloofs and friends will build a ton of commercial business sites around the arena and siphon business from downtown. That's why Fargo is so hot on downtown sites. Hell, the Downtown Plaza is on rocky ground right now with decreased sales. The Maloofs are holding more cards than the city when you look long term.
No mention in this proposal on WHERE the Arena would be built. The land they are talking about selling off/developing is in Natomas, but that doesn't mean the Arena would need to go there. It's a pretty creative financing option, and one that would probably have a much better chance of passing if put to a vote.
 
#18
slugking50 said:
Isn't Mr Tsakopoulos the guy who burned his house down to get the insurance then fled to Greece?... im guessing that must've been a different Sac area Greek-American;)
that was constantine and katherine pappadoupolos. that was the guy who burned his 10,000sf fair oaks mansion down for the insurance money. he then fled the country and left his wife holding the bag. she got nailed with arson and conspiracy charges, and unless they've found him recently, he's still a fugitive. ahhh...aint love grand? :)

Back on topic: as far as the financing plan goes, this is probably what steve cohen was talking about on the rise guys show two weeks ago. he mentioned how sacramento has a good amount of people with money, and who are very smart with it. he went on to explain the land deal that lukenbill made with the city, in order for arco 1 to be built. he then alluded to expecting a creative situation like that to present itself, not unlike that deal.

so, either he already heard about this being in the works, or he's smarter than a lot of people give him credit for.
 
#19
if they can get the money, i think a riverfront arena would be the best idea possible. imagine going out for a nice day on the river, then boating to the Arco MARINA to catch the game? or drive to the game, then walk down the pier and get the river taxi to get some sushi on the river, or chevys? also, there's already a push to renovate the riverfront with all the piers and platforms they've built the last couple of years. it could be not just a way to rejuvenate the area's infrastructure, but it could be an incredible scenic attraction not unlike old sacramento.

i hate it when people try and make sacramento into something it's not. sac (fingers crossed) is never going to be a lost angeles. it's not a huge bustling concrete sprawl, nor should it ever become that way. people call us a cow town? who cares! we have cows here! we have rice fields here! and it's not a big deal unless you believe the hype. sacramento is the river city. it's the city of trees. i'd choose that any day over fake people and bumper to bumper every morning to get to work.
 
#21
Riverfront would rule. Like over in West Sac where the port is now. The port is going bust and will eventually be closed and that area developed. If Sacramento's minor league city council won't make it happen maybe West Sac would enjoy joining the majors.
 
#22
AceKingSuited said:
Arco MARINA
That, my friend, is pure genius. I like it. Kinda like SBC park in San Fran where people can take their boats to. People can take the river otter taxi from Old Sac. Wow, I'm liking this more and more...
 
#23
AceKingSuited said:
that was constantine and katherine pappadoupolos. that was the guy who burned his 10,000sf fair oaks mansion down for the insurance money. he then fled the country and left his wife holding the bag. she got nailed with arson and conspiracy charges, and unless they've found him recently, he's still a fugitive. ahhh...aint love grand? :)

ahhhh ... (in the Voice of Maxwell Smart from Get Smart) I was this close!:p
 
#24
AceKingSuited said:
if they can get the money, i think a riverfront arena would be the best idea possible. imagine going out for a nice day on the river, then boating to the Arco MARINA to catch the game? or drive to the game, then walk down the pier and get the river taxi to get some sushi on the river, or chevys? also, there's already a push to renovate the riverfront with all the piers and platforms they've built the last couple of years. it could be not just a way to rejuvenate the area's infrastructure, but it could be an incredible scenic attraction not unlike old sacramento.

i hate it when people try and make sacramento into something it's not. sac (fingers crossed) is never going to be a lost angeles. it's not a huge bustling concrete sprawl, nor should it ever become that way. people call us a cow town? who cares! we have cows here! we have rice fields here! and it's not a big deal unless you believe the hype. sacramento is the river city. it's the city of trees. i'd choose that any day over fake people and bumper to bumper every morning to get to work.
Nice post! Agree with you all the way!
 

6th

Homer Fan Since 1985
#25
AceKingSuited, have I ever told you how much I LOVE your username? Well, I do. I have really gotten into the World Series of Poker this past year, or so.

Back to topic: Arco Marina...what a nice ring. :cool: And, you have layed out your idea of a Riverfront arena very nicely. I could really get behind something like that. :cool: :cool: :D
 
#26
thanks for the nice feedback, guys. i appreciate the love. :)

@ 6th: that's cool. i love watching the WSOP too. this year has been really fun with all the coverage of the side games. they've only televised the main event previously, but it's good for the other games like omaha and stud to get some exposure too, instead of just NLHE. you get a better idea of who the top players really are that way, too.
 
#27
6th said:
AceKingSuited, have I ever told you how much I LOVE your username? Well, I do. I have really gotten into the World Series of Poker this past year, or so.

Back to topic: Arco Marina...what a nice ring. :cool: And, you have layed out your idea of a Riverfront arena very nicely. I could really get behind something like that. :cool: :cool: :D
Unless ARCO (the corporation) want to negotiate a new contract for the naming rights to the new facility, it won't be ARCO anything (I don't believe they have a clause stipulating a transfer of the name in the advent of a new building)
 

6th

Homer Fan Since 1985
#28
Kingsgurl said:
Unless ARCO (the corporation) want to negotiate a new contract for the naming rights to the new facility, it won't be ARCO anything (I don't believe they have a clause stipulating a transfer of the name in the advent of a new building)
Now, Kg, why'd you have to go and interject logic into this? :p
 
#30
yet another arena-related item from Biz Journal

http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2004/09/06/tidbits1.html?t=printable



Public won't buy even half of new arena, survey says

New survey results, closely held within Sacramento City Hall, show the electorate is unwilling to pay even half the freight for a new Kings arena.

Councilman Steve Cohn proposed that 50-50 split for a spring ballot initiative, but two-thirds of sampled adults say no. What if the city paid just 25 percent? Even that doesn't get majority support, and a majority won't cut it. New taxes -- on hotel rooms or rental cars, for example -- would require two-thirds approval from voters.

The city could cash in 100 acres near Arco Arena, worth perhaps $75 million, but that leaves quite a gap in the city's share of a $375 million-plus project. Don't look for easy regional help; we hear that discreet recent feelers to nearby jurisdictions have flopped, as happened when Mayor Joe Serna sought support for a new baseball stadium.

In an Aug. 20 Business Journal exclusive, Joe Maloof said Maloof Entertainment would contribute 20 percent, tops, toward a new facility. Barring an innovative financial scheme, that presents a dreaded question: Just how badly does Sacramento want to keep the Kings?

Divac the bottler?

Basketball star Vlade Divac is negotiating to acquire a large stake in the Serbian water company Knjaz Milos amid strong international interest by big bottlers. The Serbian government, which owns slightly more than 41 percent of the company, is trying to raise money and hopes to recapitalize the company, but doesn't seem keen to sell it off to a multinational corporation.

Enter 7-foot 1-inch Divac. He's got the money, the accent and the high profile to help the company through privatization. Talks started last year but they heated up last month amid government budget woes.

The former Sacramento Kings center, now a Los Angeles Laker, has numerous interests outside basketball, including two restaurants here and one in LA. Investment banking trade papers and Serbian news agencies say Divac could end up owning a large minority stake or even a majority of the 150-year-old bottler, located about 70 miles south of Belgrade. Deadline for the negotiations is Monday.