Rendering of proposed downtown Sacramento sports arena, March, 2013 (Rendering courtesy of Lionakis)
Rendering of proposed downtown Sacramento sports arena, March, 2013 (Rendering courtesy of Lionakis)
Vivek Ranadive, from Tibco website
Rendering of proposed downtown Sacramento sports arena, March, 2013 (Rendering courtesy of Lionakis)
SACRAMENTO, CA - The announcement of a financial term sheet for a new downtown Sacramento arena for the Sacramento Kings did not materialize Thursday afternoon as expected.
Principals behind the plan to build a new sports and entertainment venue in the K Street downtown mall area at first did not reveal why the announcement was delayed nor when the financial plan would be ready.
Later Thursday afternoon, Sacramento City Manager John Shiery issued this statement:
We continue to make progress and have productive discussions with the Investor Group. It is important to get this right and not rush to make an artificial deadline. The bottom line for me is to get the best deal possible while adhering to the Council's adopted core principles, including a city commitment comparable to last year, no new taxes, and protection for the General Fund.
What did come out Thursday afternoon was a report from USA Today's Sam Amick that according to a source with information on the developments, another major equity player is involved.
That person is Vivek Ranadive, a minority owner of the Golden State Warriors and founder of the software company Tibco.
Ranadive tweeted: Looking forward to supporting @KJ_MayorJohnson as we work towards keeping the @SacramentoKings where they belong. #HereWeStay
Several weeks ago, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson announced Mark Mastrov, founder of 24-Hour Fitness gyms was the major equity player behind buying the Kings and Ron Burkle, an owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins, was taking the lead on the arena component.
The Sacramento effort is up against a $525 million offer from a Seattle group to move the Kings to the Emerald City. Earlier this month, NBA Commissioner David Stern said the competing offer from Sacramento's "HereWeStay" contingent was "not quite there in terms of a comparison to the Seattle bid."
Next month, NBA team owners will decide whether the Kings stay or go to Seattle. News10 will be in New York to cover the decision.
Meantime, three public meetings were still scheduled to comment on developments on the offer for the Kings and arena. They are:
- Thursday, March 21, 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m., Sacramento City Hall and City Council chambers
- Friday, March 22, 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m., Robertson Center, 3525 Norwood Avenue, Sacramento
- Saturday, March 23, 9 a.m.-11 a.m., Sam Pannell Community Center, 2450 Meadowview Road, Sacramento.
At the first public forum Thursday night, Shirey said the city will not be selling its parking assets to help finance the arena. The city will set up a non-profit and issue bonds in order to finance its portion toward building the arena; it hopes to raise about $250 million.
"The proceeds from that bond issue will fund our portion of the arena, and then the parking," Shirey said. "Will pay those bonds back."
The Sacramento City Council had been expected to vote on the term sheet at its meeting next Tuesday, March 26.
News10/KXTV