Sacramento: Kings Arena deal 'worse than we expected'

Yes, the Maloofs will make some money. Wow, how un-believable that they would want to.

If you think Sacramento and the whole area will not benefit from the renovation and rejuvination this deal will provide is just being narrow minded.
Will there be cost over runs? I'm willing to bet there will be, but if the government is in charge of the construction it will be up to $1B.

Would this money be better spent on social programs? That's irrelevant, because there will be no money without this project. The money is being raised for this project. If there is no project, we won't have money laying around to put into other things. If you want your social program to get more money... ask the people to have taxes raised to pay for it.

or maybe we would just the weath be spread out to those who arent in the top 2% financial bracket in our society? perhaps those who oppose this project would rather not see our hard earned money line the pockets of multimillionaires who could give a shit about the people of sacramento.
no war but class war. go to hell rich assholes.

Dave Tamayo is absolutely correct. This is nothing more than a massive giveaway of tax dollars to the Maloofs. I personally do not like the idea of raising taxes unless it is absolutely necessary. After looking at the Brookings Institute Study and numerous other studies conducted on the economic effects of sports stadiums, the evidence clearly shows that this is not an economic booster for the region. However, the Maloofs are going to run a multibillion dollar campaign to try and sell this to voters. People who can see through their selling tactics must come out in strong numbers to oppose this thing by joining People United for a Better Sacramento and volunteering to phone bank, walk precincts and stuff envelopes.

The arena deal is so bad it's hard to comment. First of all, I would like to have the Kings in Sacramento and it would be great to have them anchor the railyards. But,the question is what are we giving away to get these benenfits. The arena that was once to cost $300 million has escalated to $547 million and will cost $1.2 billion as presently financed. Are we out of our mind?In return, we get $4,000,000 rent which works out to be about 0.07% return.

The Maloofs don't put up $147 million, $120 million of that is their meager rent for 30 years. In return, they get the revenues from the areana which, at 25 dollars per visitor, may be $50,000,000 million per year. The Maloofs make their $27,000,000 contribution back in about six months. Then, of course, they sell Arco for $30,000,000.

If we decide to build the new stadium, why don't we put it out to all basketball frachises and take the best offer? Why are we married to the kings?

Why is it only Sacramento County paying for the new facility? What about all the adoining counties?

There is no economic benefit to this deal that justifies the public investment. The Maloofs get it all. that is why it is being sugar coated with benefit to other necessary programs to dilute the oposition.

I am glad Dave Jones has a brain and correctly sees the drawbacks to this deal as opposed to the boneheads who drafted it.

Plans like these always include the proponents claims that there will be a net benefit to the taxpayers somehow. Personally, I saw little benefit from the last foray into quasi public entities financing the RiverCats stadium. Seems to me we might get more low wage jobs which will be filled by immigrants rather than Sacramento's existing citizens, and also we will host the excesses of fame and fortune that usually accompany sports figures and thier corporate sponsors.
I will get :

More traffic

more population(growth)

increased need for law enforcement services which will in turn decrease availability for me.

Less accountability from our elected officials who tend to favor funding that doesn't come directly from those who hire them. Our money comes with strings attached. Arena tax money will be divvied up without our input. With another source of income, taxpayers wishes will carry about as much weight as a homeless persons does now.

1) Do any of you realize that the Maloofs have LOST (yes, lost) money on the Kings for 4 of the 8 years they've owned them? It's a fact. If you want the city to receive the profits from the Arena, then they would have to assume the same risk as the Maloofs, and any losses from less-than successful events at the Arena would have to be covered in part by the taxpayers. Is that what you want? seriously?

2) The notion that this tax will hit the poor soooo hard is ridiculous. Most of the items that truly poor people buy (i.e. FOOD) aren't taxed. The ones that are taxed are done so at such a small rate that it wouldn't add up to more than a few dollars a year. As a borderline poor person myself, I haveta say that I have NEVER noticed when my sales tax has gone up 1/4 of 1 percent. It's a nice touchy-feely argument, but it doesn't hold any water.

3) No economic benefits to building an Arena? Hahaha, reallllllly? What about the hundreds, or thousands of jobs (construction, Arena employees, etc) that would be created, as opposed to the hundreds/thousands of jobs that would be lost by the Kings leaving, and Arco being destroyed? Why are NONE of the people opposing the Arena taking that into consideration???

I'm not saying it's a perfect deal. It isn't. But it's sooooo superior to the alternative, and I think all of you realize that.

I think the majority of people that oppose this arena are reading ONLY the Sacramento Bee. There's an article in the NY TIMES that gives a positive point of view to this entire fiasco. Unfortunately, manny are only looking at this proposal from a negative point of view. This arena will create thousands of jobs, will attract many events (new arenas do that) and many visitors - who spend money. It will also beautify an area that is quite an eyesore. With the downtown area being revitalized, new homes popping up everywhere you look (literally) how can you not want to look at this arena as a benefit. A 1/4 % sales tax is a mere .25 cents on a $100.00. What can you buy for .25 cents? Is this 1/4 % increase the real issue? I doubt it. A new, safe, state of the art arena is a place to enjoy NOT ONLY BASKETBALL, but concerts, wrestling, boxing, funny cars, monster trucks, religious events, Ice Shows, childrens programs, Arena Football and so much more. The Arena Committee said they don't need the Maloof's to build an arena. Just who are they kidding? Do they think another professional team would come to Sacramento given the example of how they have mislead the Maloofs and the public? Sacramento is a poster child of Where Not to Bring Professional Entertainment. Sacramento politicians are keeping this town in the dark ages. Wake up it's the NEW MILLENIUM... JOIN US....

I think it's amazing how narrow minded some can be. The Maloof's have contributed more than a basketballl team to this community. They have sponsored many community programs. My son has attended thier basketball camp and loved it, my daughter volunteers at the animal shelter they sponsor and has learned much about compassion. The Maloofs donated to the renovation to one of our most beautiful churches in Sacramento. If you were lucky enough to catch a report done by one of our local news stations - "state of Arco Arena" you'll know just how much the Maloof's invest in the Arena. The report stated that Arco is in need of some extensive repair. Currently, the Mallof's pay for ALL of the repairs to the building, a min of approx 5 Million a year. This from an organization that host approx 35 games a year for the NBA and apprx. 18 games a year for the WNBA. The rest of the year Arco is rented to entertainment production companies. How is this fair? Arco would be long gone if it wasn't for the NBA & WNBA. Without a Professional sports teams mega arena's would not be possible. Who would invest in them. A concert producer? So, who wants to go to SF or SJ everytime their kids want to see Disney on Ice, or a great Band in concert? Why are we so stuck on it being a KINGS Arena? It's an ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEX. It's for all of us to enjoy, not just the BB fans, thank goodness. I love taking my family to Christmas shows, American Idol Concert, Rock Concerts, etc. I certainly don't want to travel to SF or SJ with kids to see a show. My family is worth 25 cents and so are the residents of Sacramento. We're a great city and we deserve to have a beautiful entertainment center to be proud of. We certainly can use the jobs. One question; what happens to all of the employees at Arco should the Maloofs pull the Kings and Monachs out of Sac? The Arena can't survive on Ice shows, concerts and wrestling alone. It's too small and isn't nice enough for the HEADLINERS. Example-> Why didn't Aerosmith reschedule their concert after having to cancel due to illness? They rescheduled the larger, more luxorious concert venues? You figure it out. Sacramento can be boring. We need more entertainment, not less. I like knowing my kids are at Arco watching a ball game, attending a peaceful concert and not hanging out on the street corner. Let's face it folks, if the Maloof's leave we don't just lose Basketball, we lose a huge part of our entertainment as well. Arco or any other arena will not be funded without the investment of a Pro Team Owner.

Everyone has a great point. Sacramento can use a bigger better arena. We do need the jobs. More entertainment for our growing area.

BUT, the Maloofs do not need to be the ones making all of the money. Sacramento should own the Arena themselves and "RENT" it to the Malloofs when they need it.

If the maloofs only care about the "kings" then they would go along with this idea.

Just like the indian casinos do. Hire an outside company like "stations" to run and operate it. This way Sacramento can make the Billions instead of the Maloofs. If we are all going to invest in this project, then we should all benifit from it.

Sacramento county should get the entire income, including the millions of dollars in sponsors.

The Maloofs think that there "big" name can carry there weight.