The NBA Kings have signed int'l firm Turner Construction to "construct a new downtown arena," according to Ryan Lillis of the SACRAMENTO BEE. Turner would "begin building the new arena at the Downtown Plaza immediately upon finishing Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara next year." Turner VP & GM Dale Koger said that "key personnel working on Levi's Stadium will transfer to the Sacramento arena project when the football stadium is complete." Levi's Stadium is "scheduled to be finished next August," and Sacramento officials are "planning to break ground on the new Kings arena around the same time." Meanwhile, Sacramento is "conducting an environmental review" for the proposed $448M arena. The City Council has "tentatively approved" a $258M subsidy for the project -- "most of it from future parking revenues -- that would be finalized after the completion of the environmental review." Kings President Chris Granger said that he was "aware of a petition drive under way to place a measure on the June 2014 ballot that, if passed, would require voter approval of public subsidies of sports facilities." But he "shied away from criticizing the campaign" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 7/31). Koger said that Kings ownership is "in the process of selecting a design team for the arena, a process he expected to conclude in a couple weeks." In Sacramento, Ben van der Meer noted while Koger said that his company was "committed to delivering an on-time, on-budget project, he did not disclose the dollar amount of the contract his company signed" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 7/30).
