I was in Sacramento last week, and the biggest news was not the new governor moving in or poisonous mercury in the San Joaquin rivers. The topic on everyone's lips was "Hey, did you hear about the new arena for the Kings?"
The $538 million project is going to put shops and hotels in an abandoned slice of town on the Sacramento River's east bank. The big issue in the ground zero of state politics is taxes on beer to pay for a half a billion dollars' worth of "civic improvements"? And I thought we were in a budget crisis. We just fired the last guy because of it, right? But instead of looking for ways to fund schools or business inducements, the brain trust at the state capitol is into recreation architecture.
Curiously, no one from the Kings attended the 1st budget meeting; wouldn't you think they would have some input? One writer, Marcos Breton, thought that the silence of the Maloof brothers was golden.
It is really dumb when cities get "arena envy" and decide that new arenas need to be built because other cities are building them. Civic budgets are being constantly cut, and yet the sports facilities arms race continues. I'm really sure that visitors and tourists will just flock to Sacramento and pay an extra beer and lodging tax to fund some new basketball stadium that they will never see or use. It's not like Sacramento is a college with deep-pocketed alumni needing facility improvements for recruiting. It's a city. A hot, crowded city about to have 2,000 state workers laid off. Maybe the city can rehire them at a low wage to do mortar work for the complex, and have a free hotel stay by the river.
Most of all, there is nothing wrong or outdated about ARCO arena. It is not even 20 years old yet.
I've been to Arco. It is nice with comfortable seats, good food and a BIG TV for those in the cheap seats. ARCO is always filled up when the Kings play, and the NCAA always considers ARCO first for Northern California events (like The Division 1 volleyball final four scheduled there in 2007).Yet, the neighborhood around it, is in a word, secluded. Neither restaurants, shops nor even an Arco-Am/Pm. So I can kind of buy the argument that people who go to Kings games just go to for the basketball. They have no choice! There is nothing else to do nearby.
So here's a little money saving tip for the folks in the state capital: subtract $500 million from the arena idea, and for less than $40 million build near ARCO. Instead of an arena downtown, put some of downtown near the arena. Put the mall and shops and restaurants there and revitalize that neighborhood. A train shuttle would be nice, or for those with cars, how about at least an Arco?
Embele Awipi is a host on KNRY 1240AM.
His column appears every Monday. He can be reached at embo1240@yahoo.com
Originally published October 27, 2003
