NBA Kings President Chris Granger indicated that Golden 1 Credit Union's "local roots were a deciding factor" in signing the company to a 20-year, $120M naming-rights deal for the team's new downtown arena, according to Ben van der Meer of the SACRAMENTO BUSINESS JOURNAL. Granger: "It's certainly something that matters in the calculus. We turned down multiple offers. All things being equal, a core value for us is being uniquely local." van der Meer reports Golden 1 members "will benefit in a number of ways," including "exclusive tours" of the new arena before its opening. They also will "be able to get in early on game nights, much as season-ticket holders do," and get "discounts on tickets and merchandise and quicker service for concessions." Golden 1 President & CEO Donna Bland said that there will "also be a Golden 1 ATM and branch in the arena" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 6/16). In Sacramento, Tony Bizjak writes the deal "represents a key step forward for the Kings in building business partnerships for the upcoming move downtown." Granger said, "We’re thrilled to have this done a year in advance" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 6/17).
MUSINGS FROM THE MAYOR: Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson appeared on PBS’ “Tavis Smiley” on Monday night to discuss the efforts by him and the city to keep the Kings in Sacramento. Johnson said instead of using taxpayer money to fund a new arena, the city “ended up not doing taxes to pay for a new building." Johnson: "But we had garages, parking lots parking lots, that were underutilized and we were able to monetize those. So we raised money and then we invested in a new arena that will be happening downtown in 2016." Johnson added, "You can't argue the return on the investment so you've got to be smart in each situation” in terms of utilizing public funds. Johnson: “We have 11,000 construction jobs right now in Sacramento because of that. You're going to create about $7 billion of economic development in the next 30 years" (“Tavis Smiley,” PBS, 6/15).
