NBA Kings ownership yesterday said that they “plan to begin construction on a new apartment building and shops at the devastated corner" of Eighth and K streets -- just east of Golden 1 Center -- as soon as next summer, according to Ryan Lillis of the SACRAMENTO BEE. The Sacramento City Council yesterday approved an agreement to “sell several parcels on the long-vacant corner to the Kings” for $5.9M. The Kings “should formally take control of the properties in December.” Kings President Chris Granger said that the empty space just two blocks from Golden 1 Center is a "‘strategic site’ for the Kings as they seek to transform a large swath of downtown into a vibrant entertainment zone.” He added that the Kings have “developed conceptual architectural renderings for the project” and are “hoping for planning commission approval early next year, meaning construction could start” by the middle of ‘17. Lillis notes the project could “add as many as 180 new apartments to downtown, along with a new row of retail stores." If approved, the agreement with the Kings “would net the city” roughly $3M (SACRAMENTO BEE, 10/19). CSN California’s James Ham said Golden 1 Center is “absolutely amazing” and the fans “are going to love it.” Ham: “It’s just an amazing accomplishment for city that was long overdue for something special like this” (“Sports Talk Live,” CSN Bay Area, 10/18).
HEALTH & WELLNESS: In Sacramento, Claudia Buck notes the Kings and Kaiser Permanente yesterday “opened their sports medicine facility catering to NBA players as well as teenage student athletes and ‘weekend warriors.’” Kaiser is “staffing the 18,000-square-foot facility for its patients with sports medicine physicians, physical therapists, certified athletic trainers and a neuropsychologist, who will begin seeing patients” on Monday. Granger said that the facility is the "only one of its kind in the NBA.” Kaiser Permanente is the NBA’s official healthcare partner (SACRAMENTO BEE, 10/19).
