Sacramento Discusses "Seat Mortgages" For New Kings Arena

SCFG Estimates Under Its Plan It Would Take  Less Than 2,000 Seat Sales To Finance Arena

Sacramento city officials have met twice recently with Chicago-based Stadium Capital Financing Group (SCFG), which is "pitching the concept of 'equity seat rights' or 'seat mortgages' to finance stadiums and arenas without having to go hat-in-hand to voters with unpopular tax increase proposals," according to Tony Bizjak of the SACRAMENTO BEE. An SCFG official "estimated it would take fewer than 2,000 seat sales in Sacramento -- in an arena with 18,000-plus seats -- to finance construction of what could be" a $500M facility for the NBA Kings. Kings reps "declined to comment Tuesday on the seat-selling idea," while NBA officials "also had little to say." Baltimore-based Moag & Co. CEO John Moag, a consultant working for the NBA on the arena project, said that he "could not comment on the concept for Sacramento because he has not been privy to the discussions between the city" and SCFG. But city officials said that it is "worth exploring." Sacramento Assistant City Manager John Dangberg: "The problem has always been, how do you capitalize the project upfront? You need a mechanism that can get you over the initial financial hump." Meanwhile, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson "repeated his stance Tuesday that he'd like to see the arena discussion expand beyond the Cal Expo plan." He is "expected to talk more at a press conference Thursday about his ideas for an arena and ask for alternate proposals." Johnson: "I think we need a new vision for an arena and how to make it happen" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 10/28).

NOW & THEN: In Sacramento, Sam Amick notes there was a time when the Kings were "real successful" and management "basically had a blank check" from team Owners the Maloofs. Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie, when asked "how difficult and different" the dynamics of the team are now, said, "We're in a period where we had to do some things that helped the overall economics of the business and at the same time prepare us to have some future flexibility while we're in this process. ... Everybody's business has been affected here in the last two years. But it's not always going to be that way. Our team will get better, and things will change" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 10/28).