In Sacramento, Kasler & Bizjak note the city estimates that the NBA Kings in the next five months will spend $90M "on the new downtown arena." The team plans to "start several weeks of preliminary work as early as next Wednesday," while "major demolition will probably start in July." The city plans to "give the Kings a short term, interest-free loan" of $12M to "cover various permit fees that must be paid before construction can start." The Kings’ share of the project is $222M, but that "doesn’t include money spent on acquiring the arena site" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 5/16).
EAT A PEACH FOR PEACE: In Atlanta, Dan Klepal notes Cobb County officials on Thursday "released new projections for property and sales tax revenues" from the Braves' new ballpark and mixed-use development, saying that the venture "is a good investment that will bring in more dollars than property owners will spend on it." Cobb County Commission Chair Tim Lee said that the ballpark will generate $4.8M in "sales and property taxes in 2018, while the team's private development of shops, restaurants, offices and hotel will bring in another" $7.8M in the same year (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 5/16).
WHEN I PAINT MY MASTERPIECE: In K.C., James Dornbrook noted the Chiefs' new Art Program was created because Arrowhead Stadium has a year-round meeting area with "huge empty spaces and long bare walls," and the Chiefs "want it to be an attractive space." Chiefs Chair & CEO Clark Hunt's sister, Sharron Hunt, "serves as the chairperson of the arts program." She assembled a council of "leading art experts" in the K.C. area, which "put out a call for artists in June 2012, seeking to commission work specifically" for the stadium (BIZJOURNALS.com, 5/14).
