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Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Mayor Kevin Johnson to discuss arena, Maloofs, Think Big Tuesday
by Melissa Corker, published on April 23, 2012 at 3:27 PM
Storyline: Politics
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Mayor Kevin Johnson and the owners of the Sacramento Kings, the Maloofs, have crossed paths a few times since the handshake deal for a new downtown arena splintered – and both the arena and discussions with the team owners are expected to be key topics at his weekly press conference Tuesday morning. Here's our Twitter coverage of what they mayor had to say:
The conference occured after tense words were exchanged in the media between Johnson and George Maloof after the tentative agreement for an entertainment and sports complex fell apart last week – but that didn’t stop Johnson from reaching out to the team owners Friday.
According to Joaquin McPeek, spokesman for the Mayor’s Office, Johnson flew out to Las Vegas Friday to meet the Maloofs at their family-owned hotel, The Palms.
McPeek said in an email Friday that “core principles” of the failed arena deal weren’t discussed at the impromptu meeting, but “both sides agreed that open lines of communication would be in everyone's best interest moving ahead.”
Maloof’s spokesman Eric W. Rose issued a statement Friday acknowledging the hour-long meeting between Johnson and George Maloof.
“The meeting was cordial; however, nothing definitive resulted from the meeting,” Rose said in the statement.
Johnson and Joe and Gavin Maloof were at the Kings game at Power Balance Pavilion later Friday night, but – again – there was no discussion of arena business, Johnson told media after the game.
Johnson said that a follow up conversation would happen, however, no one at the mayor’s office could confirm a planned date or time for follow-up meetings Monday.
Meanwhile, a meeting of the group spearheading the arena initiative – the Think Big Sacramento committee – took place Monday in Sacramento, but there has not been a report on the information presented at the meeting.
Johnson was not in attendance at Monday’s Think Big meeting, according to McPeek, however it will likely be another topic of discussion at Johnson’s press conference Tuesday.
The Sacramento Press will cover the mayor’s press conference on Tuesday. If you have a question you’d like us to direct to the mayor, let our political reporter Melssia Corker know via Twitter, @MelissaCorker, or leave a comment below this story.
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Last Friday, Johnson acted like a big city mayor, like a statesman. He got bigger than the whole sorrid deal, bigger than his own ambitions on the arena, got above the posturing and machismo and did a huge thing. He took the game to their crib. He made us all look good.
Like most big things in this country, this deal will probably be decided in NYC...and I think Johnson's move plays well there.
Backhanders and incentives are how you deal with slimy rich folks.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304331204577356471425094502.html#
And it didn't actually "catalyze" development around the arena--that was a separate tax-increment redevelopment project, "KC Live," which sounds more like our mid-1990s magic bullet for K Street, "America Live" (which survived about three years.) And it's not doing very well either--the expected increase in property value never materialized, nor did the expected upswing in downtown housing--and the result is a $12 million hole in the city's general fund. That's in addition to the $12 million or so that comes out of the general fund to pay the bonds for the construction of their arena--after receiving less than $2 million in arena revenue during a particularly good year.
Thanks for the link to the WSJ piece. Can you formulate your comment into a question we can try to ask in the press conference? It has to be quick (they don't give you a lot of time), but precise We can do it if you prefer, but it would be good to have a reader submitted question.
On a side note, I hope to talk Sacramento history with you soon, and will be in touch.
They're financial drains nearly every time. And frankly, I'm even okay with that -- as long as it's what the voters want. Just tell the truth: Arenas are nice, but they don't make money, so they require tax subsidies. If the voters are okay with supporting them with tax dollars, start digging; but if they reject that option, respect that opinion and move on.
KC required TWO tax hikes to make it work, and it's still a drain on their general fund. Here, we're being told that our parking revenues, which currently provide parking funding and a $9M revenue stream, will (in the future) provide parking funding, a $9M revenue stream, profit for some company, and enough left over to help fund an arena. Unless there are huge increases in parking usage AND in prices, that is simply not possible.
But really, I'd have been happy with some news organization providing some tough probing of the Think Big report that said a downtown ESC would bring in $7B over 30 years. Too late for that now. Because no one questioned it in the beginning, it's now gospel.
Later on, when it comes time to acknowledge (and pay for) a failing arena deal that will require a taxpayer bailout, I plan to vote against any tax hikes that may be required to fund such a bailout. If they don't ask us now, they have no right to ask us later. And yeah, I'll move away.