Clock Ticking On NBA Arena Deadline; Seattle Shows Interest
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The clock is ticking for Sacramento to convince the NBA it can build a new downtown arena and a new report has surfaced that Seattle has its eyes on the Kings, but one task force member says the capital city is in a good position to keep the team.
The NBA has set a March 1 deadline for the city to have a financing plan in place for a new facility.
Since last spring Jeremiah Jackson with the Think Big arena task force has been crunching the numbers, helping to develop a financing plan that relies on privatizing downtown parking garages.
"Before it was a full-court shot or a Hail Mary. Now it feels like we're at the fourth quarter at the free throw line," Jackson said. "We're going to protect the (parking) rates, we're going to protect the employees. But at the same time, we're going to use a city asset that's currently underutilized. Those garages sit empty at night and are empty on weekends.
The parking plan is expected to cover $200 million of the $387 million arena price tag. The arena task force will also tap the private sector, including AEG and the Kings' owners projected to pitch in another $100 to $130 million, and the remaining $70 million could come from a surcharge on kings tickets or by tapping city-owned land.
"Potentially using the current land out in Natomas, which would be available as part of that deal, to generate some development," Jackson said.
The details haven't been finalized yet and the city still hasn't picked a private parking operator. Jackson says they will narrow down their list of 13 interested companies and move forward with requests for proposals with the top candidates by Feb. 14.
That's 16 days before the deadline.
"There's going to be a deal in front of the NBA and Kings that's going to be a good deal for the league and ultimately a good deal for the city of Sacramento," he said.
Meanwhile, a report over the weekend surfaced that a San Francisco hedge fund manager is interested in building a new arena in
Seattle and luring an NBA team there. Seattle lost the SuperSonics four years ago when the city couldn't get a new arena built and the team relocated to Oklahoma City.
According to Seattle Times writer Steve Miletich, the city of Seattle and Chris Hansen, a Seattle native now living in San Francisco, are poised to make a pitch to bring the Kings to Seattle.
"Everyone's looking for the March 1 deadline for an arena proposal and thinking this is the best option for a team to become available," Miletich told CBS13.
Miletich says Hansen has presented a plan to the Seattle mayor that would fund a new arena in Seattle with little impact on taxpayers.
There are still some details to come and final offer has not been presented to the city.
In terms of size, Seattle has more to offer than Sacramento. It's the 12th biggest TV market. Sacramento is 20th.
Still, Seattle has two major obstacles: the Maloofs say they're not selling the team and "Sacramento is a hundred billion times closer to getting an arena built then Seattle is right now," according to 1140 The Fan's Carmichael Dave.
"If the arena is funded, the team will stay," he said. "If not, the team will leave."
