So Long Kings?
From June 2005
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“Having the Kings in a market like Sacramento helps us become and feel like the big city we really are,” says Matt Mahood, president and CEO of the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce. “You can’t put a value on it, but from a high level, the Kings have helped the city develop a sense of pride it was lacking prior to their arrival.”
To Build or Not to Build
A show of pride now may mean saying “no” to Joe and Gavin Maloof, brothers and owners of the Kings. At the moment, the community doesn’t seem particularly eager to shell out public money for a new arena.
A public opinion survey released in April 2005 found barely more than half of respondents want private dollars to pay for a new arena, while slightly more than one-third say it should be paid for by a combination of public and private financing.
Sacramento City Councilman Steve Cohn, who’s been heavily involved in arena discussions, believes that a public-private partnership is the best chance for landing a new arena. “We’ve tried it both ways — from a private and public standpoint — and both have failed. It really only leaves the last option,” he says.
Publicly financed stadiums and arenas in other cities rarely meet projected construction costs and only a handful show a profit. But pro sports venues are designed to be spending beacons for a city, operating in much the same fashion as the local food mart, which under-prices Dr. Pepper to get people into the store.
Once you’re into the store for the soda, or in this case, in the city for a game, concert or a convention, you’re likely to purchase other products that will make up for the store’s initial loss on soda.
Therefore, the stream of studies and articles declaring stadiums and arenas are losers for cities and local governments are too narrow in scope. Instead of focusing so much on the cost of the buildings, Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson suggests the question should be, “What’s the economic value of the facility?”
Continued...
To Build or Not to Build
A show of pride now may mean saying “no” to Joe and Gavin Maloof, brothers and owners of the Kings. At the moment, the community doesn’t seem particularly eager to shell out public money for a new arena.
A public opinion survey released in April 2005 found barely more than half of respondents want private dollars to pay for a new arena, while slightly more than one-third say it should be paid for by a combination of public and private financing.
Sacramento City Councilman Steve Cohn, who’s been heavily involved in arena discussions, believes that a public-private partnership is the best chance for landing a new arena. “We’ve tried it both ways — from a private and public standpoint — and both have failed. It really only leaves the last option,” he says.
Publicly financed stadiums and arenas in other cities rarely meet projected construction costs and only a handful show a profit. But pro sports venues are designed to be spending beacons for a city, operating in much the same fashion as the local food mart, which under-prices Dr. Pepper to get people into the store.
Once you’re into the store for the soda, or in this case, in the city for a game, concert or a convention, you’re likely to purchase other products that will make up for the store’s initial loss on soda.
Therefore, the stream of studies and articles declaring stadiums and arenas are losers for cities and local governments are too narrow in scope. Instead of focusing so much on the cost of the buildings, Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson suggests the question should be, “What’s the economic value of the facility?”
Continued...
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