The NBA Kings yesterday told season-ticket holders that prices "will go up next season," with news "disclosed in emails" unveiling the team's final renderings for their proposed downtown arena, according to Dale Kasler of the SACRAMENTO BEE. Several season-ticket holders said that they were "informed their tickets will go up" by 9%. Kings President Chris Granger said that some tickets "won’t go up at all, and others will go up anywhere between $1 and $50 a game." He added that this is the "first increase in five years and is justified by the rise in attendance at Sleep Train Arena this season." Granger: "The prices will still be lower than they were in 2008." He added that the increases include a 5% surcharge "to accelerate repayment" of the $62M debt the Kings owe the city (SACRAMENTO BEE, 1/29).
IF YOU DON'T BUILD IT...: In Sacramento, Marcos Breton writes what is missing in the debate over the Kings' new arena "is an acknowledgment that there is no other real or tangible proposed deal between the Kings and Sacramento." The $258M the city is slated to contribute to the arena is "a lot of money for the city to invest in remaking the Downtown Plaza," and there are "risks involved in paying down the debt over the next decade." Breton: "But what are the real consequences of spurning the deal? Losing the Kings, having Sleep Train Arena as a fading asset -- and a dead downtown mall" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 1/29).
