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Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson released the names of his regional arena coalition Monday, amid hopes the Here We Build campaign will be able to figure out financing options.
But the absence of a representative of Natomas, where Power Balance Pavilion sits, raised protests from the Natomas Chamber of Commerce.
Johnson announced the members of a bipartisan, 15-member executive committee Monday morning. The remaining 45 members of the community coalition were expected to be announced Monday evening, according to the mayor’s office.
No one from the Natomas Chamber of Commerce, which has led a campaign to keep the arena there, had been asked to be part of the coalition as of 5:30 p.m. No Natomas representatives are expected to be in the coalition, Johnson spokesman Joaquin McPeek said.
Sacramento County Supervisor Phil Serna was named to the executive committee. He lives in Natomas and represents the area in his supervisor role. But he hasn’t represented Natomas economic interests in the arena process, Natomas Chamber President Ed Koop said.
"He's never been the voice of anything we've been trying to do here, as far as the economic impact,” Koop said. "In my opinion, that's not a good representation of what we've got going on here."
Frustrated chamber members are refusing to provide a letter of support for the arena effort after Johnson recently asked for one. To be asked for support is "absurd," because building a new arena downtown will "cannibalize" Natomas, said Koop, adding chamber members feel their community has been ignored throughout the arena process.
"Natomas seems to be constantly put in the back seat. We're not asked to participate in any of these things going forward," he said.
Chamber officials want the city to set up a task force to focus on reuse of the Natomas site. But no one from the mayor's office has reached out to talk about the site's future, Koop said.
"I don't believe anyone's seriously looking at what's going to happen to Natomas if this arena leaves," he said.
Johnson asked for letters of support at a regional chamber coalition meeting at Sacramento Metro Chamber headquarters on June 3 – a few days after officially announcing the coalition's formation. Representatives of all six counties were there, Koop said.
The mayor and the mayor's office followed up last week with emails asking to get the letters, which were to be addressed to the city, by June 17.
The Here We Build executive committee will be chaired by state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, a Democrat from Sacramento, and State Sen. Ted Gaines, a Republican from Roseville.
Other members of the committee include state Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon and Sacramento City Councilman Rob Fong.
Also on the committee is San Francisco investor Darius Anderson. He told Johnson at the National Basketball Association team owners' meeting in April he and billionaire Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner Ron Burkle wanted to buy the Sacramento Kings or bring another team here if the Kings left.
The full coalition will consist of stakeholders from around the region: elected officials, labor leaders, corporate and small business owners, grassroots organization leaders, developers and religious leaders.
Johnson said in a press conference Monday that the coalition was put together to equitably represent the metropolitan area.
“We knew if we had 22 cities and six counties, we knew we had to have about 30 electeds and maybe 30 non-electeds,” he said. “So, when it came down to the executive committee, we knew we wanted 12 to 15 members – half elected, half non-elected.”
The mayor's office cast "a wider net" to involve a broad base of the community, McPeek said.
"We want to make sure we have a nice cross section, across the board," he said.
The mayor's office is setting up the arena coalition's first public meeting for Thursday. The time and location are still being determined.
The group will be meeting to explore arena funding options and determine the "critical pathway" to financing a new arena, McPeek said.
McPeek could not say what work the ICON-Taylor group is doing to come up with arena funding options, which were due at their presentation to the City Council in late May. It's not clear how the arena experts will work with regional Here We Build coalition members to answer the funding question.
The Roseville Chamber of Commerce has sent in a letter of support commending the mayor for reaching beyond his borders to promote a regional discussion on a new arena, Roseville Chamber Chief Executive Officer Wendy Gerig said.
"It's not just about the Kings and basketball. It's about economic development and the jobs that will not only go to businesses in Sacramento, but to El Dorado, Placer, Yolo, Yuba and Sutter counties," she said. "Our region is deserving of such a facility."
A link to the other coalition member names will be added in the comment section below.
Sacramento Press staff reporter Kathleen Haley contributed to this report. Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @SuzanneHurt.
The press release lists 70 coalition members, not 60 as Mayor Kevin Johnson announced two weeks ago.
The coalition includes some people who represent Natomas in their official capacities, such as City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby and state Assemblyman Richard Pan.
Here is a link to a scribd document containing the press release:
http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/57813078?access_key=key-25nqjllfunhs8b6m6t8n
http://www.scribd.com/doc/57851283/Arena-Coalition-List-June-13
The list is in the main a list of politicos and hanger - ons from St Hope.
I don't follow basketball, and am not among the "Be Heard" fans. However, the idea of a downtown arena is appealing. It would help attract additional convention and trade show business, which the Natomas arena really can't. It would be a venue for ice hockey (one can hope; go Bruins!), concerts, festivals, other performances.
But as long as the Maloofs are the perceived beneficiary, count me among those who would vote no on any tax measure to build a new arena.
The Following Document will help:
http://www.sacta.org/pdf/new_measureA/FinalPlanofFinance.pdf
"STA New Measure A Sales Tax Program Plan of Finance"
Open the document and search it for the term "intermodal"
Downtown Intermodal Station
Funding Sources
"Other Local" $ 224,998,882.00
"Measure A Revenue" $ 109,786,959 .00
Total $ 334,785,841.00
Rex Babin's Summary to date: "I Thought You Were Suppose To Put In The Transit Center! "
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/06/02/3669763/doh.html
To Lisa's point and the possibility of fund miss-use if not repaid:
The Spin-The City owns the land
http://sacramento.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?meta_id=216470&view=&showpdf=1
The Railyards Parcels A & B were largely paid for, to the tune of 82%, ($48,000,000.00) using Measure A sales tax funds. (See page 6 of the above document) You know that county-wide extra 1/2% we all pay in sales tax....specifically for transportation projects...So how exactly is a Sports Arena, with no parking, a beneficial transportation project?
How much in Measure A funds did we already spend to build that Arena Blvd I-5 interchange...to facilitate traffic circulation at the current site....ON ARENA BLVD....THE BLVD with the ARENA formerly known as ARCO!
Where's the paying back of Measure A funds for the lands purchased where the Arena proposed site is...since this is a non-transportation project? It's not mentioned anywhere in this fornicated proposal. Yet the amount of transportation-specific-money generated by the Measure A sales tax...that would legally need to be paid back for a non-transportation related project
for that proposed arena site....ballpark guess...20-25 MILLION!
BTW, according to all those "color glossy photos, with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one"...quoting Arlo....they put the Arena right on top of the Light Rail Station that has already been built at the Amtrak Depot....Where's the budget for tearing out , moving and replacing all of that previously thought out, budgeted and completed work?
Don't allow yourself to be HERDED!
Hmmm, $335 MILLION DOLLARS for a transit hub, do you think someone might propose building this arena bamboozle on top of it?