Sports fans and arena enthusiasts will have to wait a little longer for word on any “plan B’ for an entertainment and sports complex in the railyards – at least until the new city budget is resolved. “I was shooting for sometime in May, but it’s going to take a little longer,” Mayor Kevin Johnson told the media Tuesday. The city spent nearly $690,000 in the past year on consultants and research in preparation for building a new arena in the downtown railyards. When negotiations with the Maloof family, the Kings’ owners, collapsed, Johnson quickly set off in search of a viable ‘plan B’ – with or without the Maloofs. Johnson continues to meet with Tim Lieweke, president of Anschutz Enter

There may no longer be an arena deal, but Mayor Kevin Johnson said he isn’t giving up on an entertainment and sports complex for Sacramento – not until the city has considered all options, including building an arena without an anchor tenant. “This is not over, in my opinion,” Johnson said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. “It doesn’t do us any good to continue to point fingers and blame. We don’t have the deal we thought we had, so we need to figure out what plan B looks like.” Options to be considered, Johnson said, may include scaling back the original project to cut costs or to build the facility in stages, adding features over time. Building a venue without an anchor tenant i

City officials had the last word of the day Friday on the failed arena deal between the city and the owners of the Sacramento Kings – and that word was “disappointed.” “We are profoundly disappointed that the entertainment and sports complex project is not moving forward,” City Manager John Shirey said Friday. “We had great hopes, and there was great jubilation just a few weeks ago that a deal had been struck.” Assistant City Manager John Dangberg and City Councilmen Rob Fong and Steve Cohn joined Shirey for an impromptu press conference Friday in response to the sudden failure of a deal between the city, the Maloofs, arena operator AEG and the NBA to build a new arena in Sacramento. “T

Mayor Kevin Johnson admitted defeat Friday as the deal to build a new arena and keep the Kings in Sacramento failed despite the “blood, sweat, tears and effort” that Johnson said went into it. “Is the deal as we know it dead? Absolutely,” Johnson said. In what turned out to be the third major press conference in New York Friday regarding the arena deal, Johnson told media that he is baffled by the Kings owners, the Maloofs, and he doesn’t understand how things fell to this point. “We felt we had an agreement (in Orlando), they didn’t feel that we did. That’s a pretty fundamental difference,” Johnson said. “It became very clear by their actions today that they didn’t want to make a deal.

After a year of negotiations, economic reports and financial cartwheels by city officials and Sacramento Kings owners, NBA Commissioner David Stern said it appears the deal for a new Sacramento arena is dead. “I am extremely disappointed on behalf of both the Maloofs and the city of Sacramento,” Stern said at a New York press conference Friday, “but I think there is nothing further to be done.” Stern said the NBA Board of Governors met Thursday with the Sacramento Kings team owners, the Maloofs, and – after hearing a “detailed and thorough” presentation – Stern said the board came to some simple conclusions. “(In Orlando) we had an agreement in principle – a framework, a handshake deal

Mayor Kevin Johnson spoke at his weekly press conference on Sacramento’s commitment to the Cool California Challenge and the 30,000 Trees in 30 Days campaign. Both of these commitments, he said, go toward his vision of turning Sacramento into "Emerald Valley," the greenest region in the country. The Cool California Challenge is a competition between cities in California. Residents of participating cities sign up online to track their carbon footprints. Signing up earns 100 points, and every energy-saving activity tracked earns additional points. Johnson said that Sacramento needs 1,000 residents to pledge because he wants to win the challenge. The mayor of Davis, Joe Krovoza, and the ma

David Watts Barton hosted his final “Insight” show on Capital Public Radio Tuesday, and we talked about a few stories that have caught the attention of Sacramentans recently, including arena financing, affordable housing and utilities rate hikes. After Mayor Kevin Johnson announced a tentative agreement to get a new arena built followed by a 7-2 vote by the City Council in favor of moving forward with the project, it looks like a done deal. But a local group called Sacramento Taxpayers Opposed to Pork is making an effort to put the kibosh on the deal with a new November ballot initiative. The initiative would require any public financing for the new entertainment and sports complex to g

City officials and the new arena operator said Tuesday they are making progress on the terms of an arena deal for Sacramento, but there is still a long way to go before a final agreement is reached. AEG President Tim Leiweke joined Mayor Kevin Johnson, City Councilman Jay Schenirer and City Manager John Shirey at the mayor’s weekly press conference to talk about the ongoing discussions and the specifics of AEG’s role with the proposed entertainment and sports complex. “We have a lot to do and today begins the process,” Leiweke said. AEG is a sports and entertainment presenter based in Los Angeles. City representatives, the Maloofs, the NBA and AEG came to a tentative agreement for an e

Mayor Kevin Johnson held an impromptu press conference Wednesday to give an update on progress with discussions between Sacramento, the NBA and the Sacramento Kings’ owners, the Maloof family. “There are great discussions going on between the city and the NBA and we are confident that we, as a city, are doing our part to make (a deal) happen,” Johnson said. Johnson appeared at the press conference flanked by City Manager John Shirey and City Council members Jay Schenirer, Angelique Ashby, Darrell Fong, Rob Fong and Bonnie Pannell. “We’re closer than we’ve ever been before, and the bottom line is – the city controls its own destiny,” Johnson said. Earlier Wednesday, Johnson and NBA Comm

Mayor Kevin Johnson and NBA Commissioner David Stern released a joint statement today outlining an updated timeline for finalizing terms of a new arena deal for Sacramento. According to the release, the city of Sacramento and the NBA are continuing “constructive discussions” on the details of a financing plan for a new entertainment and sports complex. Johnson said at his weekly press conference Tuesday that details of a completed financing term sheet were expected to be available to the public by Thursday, in advance of a Feb. 28 City Council discussion and vote on the plan. Wednesday’s press release, however, offers an adjusted timeline in an effort to “ensure adequate time for public

Mayor Kevin Johnson emphasized on the need for a completed term sheet and signs of commitment from interested companies in order to finish the new arena project in 2015. Johnson gave a progress report on the plans to build this new arena in Sacramento at Tuesday’s weekly press conference. Johnson said that there were many questions still in the air that were being discussed even as he stood in City Hall, mainly questions on what companies will contribute to the arena project, and how. Johnson said that his hope is that by Feb. 28, all stakeholders involved will be in agreement on a term sheet that outlines all financial areas of the project – a sort of rough draft for the budgeting plans

At about 9 a.m. Thursday, three-time Amgen Tour of California winner Levi Leipheimer announced via a "tweet" that he was going to defend his title in 2010. It was part of a high-profile Twitter conversation started by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that went something like this: "@schwarzenegger: Great news for American cycling fans and CA. The 2010 Amgen Tour of California will be better than ever. @lancearmstrong will you join us? @lancearmstrong: Absolutely! @schwarzenegger, I've decided to ride the #Amgen Tour of California in 2010. Can't wait. What about you @levileipheimer? @levileipheimer: I'll definitely be racing the 2010 Amgen Tour of California, defending my title." Then at 4:30