Nearly two years after a new ownership group took control of the NBA Kings and Sleep Train Arena, the franchise "is still working on a plan for the redevelopment" of the team's current arena site once the team moves to a new downtown facility, according to Ryan Lillis of the SACRAMENTO BEE. Kings VP/Strategic Initiatives Kunal Merchant on Tuesday told the Sacramento City Council that the team "planned to step up its outreach and analysis efforts to find a use for the nearly 200 acres surrounding Sleep Train Arena." The team "owns 84 acres in North Natomas and will receive 100 city-owned acres by next year" as part of the city’s $255M contribution to the downtown arena financing plan. Sacramento Mayor Pro Tem Angelique Ashby, who reps the community of North Natomas in City Council, "appeared unhappy with the lack of movement on the site." Ashby: "I don’t want to wait until 2016 and the team is gone and that engine is gone for Natomas before we have a plan for how we’re moving forward. That is unacceptable." Lillis noted the Kings "can’t build anything on the site until the federal government lifts a building moratorium that is in place until nearby levees are upgraded" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 2/25). A BEE editorial runs under the header, "Kings, City Can't Neglect Natomas." It has "been obvious for three years that there needs to be a real plan for redeveloping the Sleep Train Arena site." In their defense, the Kings owners "have been rather busy" since taking over in '13 -- "keeping the team in Sacramento, putting the deal together for the new arena and working on surrounding development downtown." While there "has been no official decision, it’s almost certain that Sleep Train Arena will be torn down because there’s a non-compete clause with the new arena and because the building is three decades old" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 2/26).
