Sacramento Mayor Says City Could Lose Kings Without New Arena

Sacramento Mayor Says City Could Lose Kings If New Arena Is Not Built

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson yesterday said that the city "could lose the Kings if efforts for a new arena aren't stepped up," according to a front-page piece by Lillis & Bizjak of the SACRAMENTO BEE. Johnson: "If we don't have a clear path to an arena in the not too distant future, then we as Sacramentans need to know that (the Kings) very well may look elsewhere." Johnson made his comments after "finding out the NCAA had bypassed Sacramento's bid to host the regional round of the men's basketball tournament." Johnson said it was "staggering and mind-boggling" that Arco Arena is no longer considered suitable for big-time college basketball. Johnson said that he "wants to see a proposal to build a new arena at Cal Expo soon." He added that if a proposal does not materialize, the "threat of the Kings leaving town will become more real." However, it is "unclear what, if anything, the mayor can do about pressuring the NBA and Cal Expo officials to come up with a plan." Baltimore-based Moag & Co. CEO John Moag, a consultant working for the NBA on the arena project, said, "I think the mayor is expressing a sense of where we all are. We are in a bad economy in a state that doesn't have any money. Lending has dried up. We can't force developers to borrow money they can't get." Moag said that he and the NBA have "not given up hope, however, of getting an arena built at Cal Expo." Lillis & Bizjak note the downtown railyard also "remains in this conversation" as a possible site for a new arena. Johnson said that he "would discuss his ideas for the arena in the coming days and weeks, as building a new arena has now moved up on his list of priorities" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 9/23).

THIS OLD HOUSE: Johnson in a blog posting on his Web site wrote for the "first time in 15 years, the NCAA is refusing to bring its regional basketball March Madness to Sacramento, thanks to the shabby condition of Arco Arena." The idea of the NCAA rejecting the NBA arena is "embarrassing to Sacramento." Johnson: "It's not the NCAA's fault. And I'm not surprised by the rejection. I knew this day would come. Any sports fan who has visited Arco Arena lately should have seen it coming. ... When you're suddenly not good enough for the NCAA and can't even compete with college arenas, it's a sad day" (KEVINJOHNSONFORMAYOR.com, 9/22).