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Monday, May 20, 2013
Mayor planning 'deal or no deal' meeting with Maloofs
by Melissa Corker, published on April 24, 2012 at 12:37 PM
Storyline: Politics
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Mayor Kevin Johnson said another meeting with the Maloofs is in the works, but stopped short of promising that the arena deal will be revived – or that a new deal will be struck.
“Sitting down doesn’t do anybody any harm – but it won’t be dragged out,” Johnson said. “I don’t want anyone to have false hope.”
Johnson told media Tuesday at his weekly press conference that the city’s position on the arena deal remains the same, but the city will still explore all options.
“In terms of plan B, we continue to do our internal analysis,” Johnson said. “Our goal is to report back (to the City Council) on May 8.”
The sticking point in negotiations between the city and the Maloofs is the revenue projections for the project – the city’s and the NBA’s evaluations differ from that of economist Chris Thornberg, who was brought on by the team owners to give another assessment of the financial feasibility of a new arena.
“I don’t want to rehash everything or negotiate in public,” Johnson said. “If the revenue projections aren’t agreed to, then there’s nothing else to be done. We have nothing to negotiate on that point.”
Johnson said he can’t say what the outcome of the next meeting with the Maloofs might be, just that there will be one of three results: deal, no deal, or – if there appears to be good reason for it – continuing discussions.
But time is of the essence.
“We’re not going to make (the) 2015 (basketball season) if we don’t get a deal quickly,” Johnson said. “It may be hard to make 2015 even now.”
Johnson said he is “hopeful, but not confident” about further negotiations with the Maloof family, and no date has been confirmed for the meeting between the Maloofs and Johnson.
Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.
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And in that backdrop, we're supposed to believe that Thornberg is not reliable? In what universe does this even make sense?
The Mayor's laughable attempts to get the Maloofs to make a yes decision will result entirely in a big "no thanks".
Try adding some incentives instead Mr. Mayor. That's how business works but you don't seem to be any good at it.
One of the problems of this debate is that there are no sensible numbers. Thornberg was paid to torpedo a deal within 48 hours of a press conference. Think Big had every intention of touting the best case scenario.
I wish there were some party that didn't have a clear agenda coming in. Oh well.
http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/52771/Report_Arena_could_bring_7_billion
For Mr. Burg and the rest who think this is somehow about the Kings.. read Breton's article in the past Sunday Bee.. The Kings are simply a distraction...
Source: http://www.pitch.com/plog/archives/2009/10/01/sprint-center-financing-explained
Similarly, AEG's deal in Sacramento, as presented in the term sheet, would make them money regardless of whether the city of Sacramento has to dig into its general fund to pay for its construction debt. And, more importantly, if AEG can get the Kings stuck in Sacramento (and out of southern California) for 30 years, their $500 million media deal in southern California stays safe! So they stand to do quite well in this deal--what it does to Sacramento's city finances is none of their concern.
Although one could go further and ask why it's such a good deal for AEG?
I pointed this out to Mr. Breton and he replied by stating out that AEG seems to think they know better. They might think that and it might even be true. But the column implied this was a symptom of current disinterest or recent bad management, rather than being normal for Sacramento at that time of the year.
No link to offer, but arena shows worldwide have been slowing for years.
But frankly, two things wouldn't hurt here:
1) The Maloofs maintain PBP as though they actually want people to show up;
2) They then actually try to bring shows in town.
They do neither.
AEG are not simply about basketball, they make money from many other things.
Of course AEG are the winner here. That's why they are keeping silent.
AEG is the winner here--although they stand to lose a lot if the Kings move to southern California. So while they are still likely to stick with the arena plan in Sacramento even if the Kings aren't included, they have a large vested interest in keeping them stuck to Sacramento--or Portland, or really any city that doesn't threaten their southern California media deal.
Perhaps part of the Maloofs' concerns involve giving up booking of non-Kings events in a new arena to AEG Live?