SACRAMENTO, CA - If all goes according to plan, Sacramento's city manager will be outlining new financing structure for a new arena on Thursday, March 21.
At Tuesday's Sacramento City Council meeting, John Shirey said he wanted to present the term sheet to the council on March 26, meaning the documents would have to be publically posted on the 21st (the Thursday before council meets).
Shirey told the council that waiting until April 2 was cutting it close because in early April, the NBA subcommittees will review both Sacramento's and Seattle's offer.
When looking at the parties involved, it's clear this deal, to build an arena at the Downown Plaza, will be similar to the one the Maloofs walked away from last year.
The first deal that would have built the arena at the railyards had three funding sources: public, private and user fees. The part most likely to change the most is the private contribution.
Originally, AEG, the Sacramento Kings and the Maloofs were filling that slice of the pie. Now, it's Ron Burkle and Mark Mastrov. Mastrov would be contributing on behalf of the Sacramento Kings.
The public contribution changes a bit too, as the city's contribution could be less. Monetizing parking might now pay for anywhere from $200 to $250 million.
The only expected contribution that probably won't change is user fees from ticket or concession surcharges.
Sacramento's original plan was vetted and approved by the NBA, so the second time around should have little if any obstacles.
It could also be very appealing to the owners; it includes a significant public investment and the owners should be trying to make of example of it.
"I think a lot of people in the NBA were extremely impressed by what Sacramento was able to pull off last year," said Kunal Merchant, Think Big's executive director. "It had a significant public investment but also protected the taxpayers. That's a big deal, it doesn't happen often in California."
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