Sunday, August 21, 2011

Downtown Arena for the Kings?

As many of you know the Sacramento Kings almost left for Southern California this spring. The Kings' ownership is seeking a new downtown arena and when the Sacramento City Council failed to provide a plan for one, the team seemed destined for Anaheim. The Maloof's pulled the plug on the move at the last minute claiming that they will keep the team in Sacramento one more year but promise to move next year if a new arena deal is not in the works. The city of Anaheim has already approved a $75 million bond to provide the Kings with a new home. The Anaheim City Council claims that corporate backing and revenues from the Honda Center will pay for the bond and that no city tax dollars will be spent on the deal. However, what will happen if corporate backers fail to develop or revenues from the arena fall short of expectations?

Sacramento has some interesting questions to answer. How much city tax dollars should be used to fund a new arena? Would a new downtown arena provide enough tax dollars and new jobs to cover the costs? Should governments be in the business of enticing sports teams to move to their cities and provide tax incentives to do so? A new 70-member commission named "Here We Build" will release a report in September outlining the feasibility of a new downtown arena.

Questions:
  1. Should Sacramento try to keep the Kings with a new downtown arena?
  2. Should tax dollars be used for the new arena?
  3. In general, do cities and states benefit from having sports franchises and, if so, what should they do to keep them?


20 comments:

  1. hey bauer its olivia french.
    i dont think that sacramento should build a downtown arena considering how much we are already in debt.the upsides are that it could provide alot of jobs for the people of sacramento and possible bring money in, but that would take a very long time, and it would only clear up maybe a quarter of the debt.tax dollars are already being spent on numerous things like renewing the freeways.they should spend the money on fixing that stupid mall they never finished on the way to elk grove instead of trying to keep the kings here. yes, it is important for cities to have teams and benefit from the sports franchises, but its not like the sacramento kings are the San Francisco 49ers or something!!!are they really that good to build a 60million dollar arena on???

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  2. Hey Mr. Bauer its Dalton,

    I truly believe that Sacramento should differently try and keep the Kings in Sacramento where they truly belong. If Sacramento has the resources and people lined up to build the arena then i say.. why not. There is no down fall to it. Arco Arena would be used mainly for more concerts and Monster Jams(what ever those are for...). And the kings would have a state of the art facility to play in. There for bringing more people in because new is always better.

    Should tax dollars be used to build the new arena? I believe that some of the tax dollars should be used to build the new arena only so Sacramento doesn't have to borrow to much money for the arena. As long as they promise to put back all of the tax dollars once the arena starts to generate money for the city. Now it is up to Sacramento to decide how much some of the money will actually be, but we would have to take there word on what ever they say.

    Of coarse cities benefit from having sports teams. Because it always generates money for the city from the taxes that are applied to everything you buy. And after the game people usually go out for something to eat or drink, there for generating more money for not only that city or state, but also for the locale businesses around the arena. If the city has any thing they could do to help keep that team in its city, i say do it because in the long run that team will generate enough money to at least return the money that they may have borrowed.

    Real fast the fact that the city has already assembled a 60 member group to plan every thing out is ridicules. Mainly because our tax dollars are funding there group. So already the city is using our tax dollars for nothing.

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  3. This is Alex Abbott

    The city should NOT use our tax dollars to fund a new arena.How much money it would cost to built it would not create enough revenue( money and jobs etc).

    the Sacramento Kings, thats our closest major sports team and i, personally, grew up going to kings games with my step dad and had great memories but all great things do come to an end.

    They do not make enough money. that is the bottom line. Sacreamento should not try and keep them here and should not use tax dollars for a new arena. yes, in general cities benifit from sports teams but the money it would cost to build a new arena would be too much. Also the jobs that it creats are merely part time jobs. Its not that great of a deal.

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  4. This is Deisi Arias. .

    I think that the Sacramento Kings should not be kept with a new arena. If it is kept, then it shouldnt be tooken out of our own tax dollers. We shouldnt all have to pay just for an arena that we don't need. We have school budgets being cut and plus they want us to pay for an arena that's not needed. I think the city does benefit from having sports franchises because all the money coming out of it and the team motivates others to come and visit. What they could do instead of tax us, is fund raise or take donations, but I think either way the Kings aren't worth it. They aren't earning us money

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  5. Hey Bauer, this is Tay Gray, I dont think the Kings should stay here. I dont think they are good enough to be taking away or tax money. If we had a better team where more people went to watch them then it would be a different story. In my eyes the Sac Kings dont deserve to be taking our money to do badley in their games. If they want to stay in Sac then they need to find a nother way to earn money for the arena. It isnt fair for us to be paying this money for them to play and stay here. They need to find other alternatives to keep them here! I think we deserve to have a pro basketball team close by but not if we are wasteing our moeny on them.

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  6. Hey Mr. Bauer its Jeremy DeBlois,
    Im completely against The Kings moving down to Southern California. I honestly see nothing wrong with the Arco stadium. My Family and I have been buying season tickets to the Kings every year for about 5 years now. Its probably one of the most memorable times with my family.

    As for the tax dollars, thats a definate no. Just because some rich person somewhere wants more money and demands that there has to be a new stadium in order for the kings to stay is ridiculous. Everybody here makes their own hard money and im pretty sure nobody wants it taken out just to make some selfish guy happy.

    In general, i believe every city should have some type of sports to enjoy. Or atleast in Galts position somewhere decently close like Sacramento. The Stadium brings tons of jobs for the average Americans who are very down because of this crash in the economy.

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  7. This is Angel Brittany.
    I don't think Sacramento should build a new arena for many reasons. One, it will be a waste of money, too much of it will be spent. It'll be a waste because we already have an arena. Although it's not a big as others, such as the one in LA. Two, it's ridiculous to want to make one in order to build a bigger one. Three, getting a new arena in downtown will not only cost so much, but it'll raise sales taxes. Like we don't have to pay enough taxes already. -.- Four, tradition. How long have we had the Arco Arena? Since the 1980's and the Kings have been playing there ever since. And the gov't/people want to change that when it has a little sentimental value to the whole building? I just don't think it's fair. We don't need a new building. Maybe a little retouching to the one we have now, if it's SERIOUSLY needed, but that's it.

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  8. Hey Bauer its Arturo from 5period. i dont think Sacramento should use tax dollars to build a new arena for the kings. If the kings want a new arena they should not use the community tax dollars to pay for it. Those tax dollars can be used to upgrade schools or for city purposes. They would have to find other ways to raise money to buld a new arena. If the kings starts to win games and make the playoffs again, then maybe the community would support the idea of a new arena. But for right now no.

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  9. hey its bri.
    i do not think sacramento should use tax dollars to build a downtown arena, and i dont think the king should stay in sac if that means putting us farther in debt with no garuntee that the profits from this arena will bring in enough money to even make a dent in out horrible economy. and plus arco arena, though it is mainly used for the kings, who really goes to see the kings anymore?? im sure that the revenue from the justin beiber concerts and finding nemo on ice will bring in alot of money when there gone. i mean im sure that citys benifit from having sports teams but, the kings? come on we do not need to be spending 60million dollars on them. and yeah who knows they could end up going to anaheim and become the number one team in the nba (LOL) but face it theres no proof there not going to continue to suck and loos a bunch of our money..
    (: see you tomorrow for the debate mr.b!

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  10. Hey Bauer!
    I think that the sacramento kings should have an arena built. I believe that it won't be cheap at first but in the long run it will be worth it because of the money that will be invested will also get recovered. Basketball games are not the only things that will be hosted there are it won't matter if we have a great team or not.
    I believe that we should also keep the team so that we have something to represent our region. Yea, it might be alot of money but its not like all that money is coming out of one persons pocket. Im sure that we can all put a little to make something that will hopefully be worth it.
    We'll see what happens and hopefully if it does it will all go well :)

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  11. This is Jennifer Giacomini AKA Snips.
    It is my firm believe that the Sacramento Kings should stay in Sacramento. Although i am far from a basketball fan, i do believe that the Kings belong here for one. They bring the Sac communite jobs and a source of entertainment. although, if the Kings wish to leave they should use their own money to build the stadium and situate themselves. it is none of my concern, nor my money's worth to pay for a team that really sucks.

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  12. Clara
    I think that even though building a new arena for the kings is very expensive it would also provide many new jobs and business to the places that surround it. Also the new arena has different uses to the new arena like concerts. Many people would be against the use of tax payer dollars so they should try to raise as much money as they can and whatever money they can’t come up with should be tax payer money. Having the kings around would not only provide many new jobs but being able to watch a game in an arena filled with screaming fans can also be fun, many people go to the basketball games for the atmosphere. That’s why we should do everything to keep the kings because we will benefit from them, even though we don’t see the profit right now we will in the future.

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  13. Dakota
    If we build the new arena, we will definitely see an increase in profit for local businesses, but it's impossible to prove whether it will cover the cost of the taxes. Nor will it be possible to prove if it will not.

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  14. Hey bauer!

    I think that the sacramento kings should stay in sacramento because it gives the people of sacramento something to look forward to during basketball season. Even if the team doesn't play well, it still awakens some sort of pride in the people of Sacramento. The kings give the sacramento area some sort of representation and to take the kings from sacramento would be like stripping them from recognition.

    Bulding a new arena would not only benefit the city but the players as well. The creation of a new downtown arena would generate jobs and money which in turn benefits the city. Many people argue that building the arena would be a great risk and that sacramento doesn't need to be getting into more debt than it already has but obviously what we've been doing isn't working so why not try something new. Sometimes the greatest gain comes right after the greatest risk.

    The new downtown arena would not only be used for Kings games but for overall intertainment. The construction of the arena should not be paid for strictly by tax dollars, it should be a combination of successful business partnering together with the city of sacramento. Also, another way for the kings to give back to the city would be to let the city keep a percentage of economic gain to pay off debt.

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  15. zach alcoriza,
    I think the Kings should stay at the new arena in Sacramento because they still owe the city 77 million dollars from the previous years. if they they do stay they would bring all kinds of revenue to the city. Also tax dollars wouldnt have to be used because all the revenue would pay off the loans.

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  16. Hey Bauer, it's Aimee Georguson

    At the present time, i don't think that a new downtown arena should be built especially if tax dollars are being used. Many other tax funded things are living with the minimum, such as school funding, so a sports arena should be treated the same. I realize that it would provide quite a few jobs for the Sacramento area, but being able to build those jobs isn't possible without having to force others into continuly tight budgets.
    Cities and their states do benefit from having sports franchises in their area but we can benefit from having other things directly better such as rebuilding freeways, larger education funding, and being out of debt.

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  17. hey mr. Bauer its janett what i think about this is that the Sacramento Kings should not get a new arena. It doesn't matter where they play they are going to suck anyways.What i think should happen is REPLACE the players and maybe we actually have a chance. As of for the jobs being created , it would help a lot with the economy . the gov.'t will screw us over in more debt as of the new arena. Theres no time anyways don't you hear? were going to die in 2012 ha ha.. i don't believe it but i think we should use our money more efficiently

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  18. Hey Mr. Bauer this is Celeste Muniz (and yes I said that fast)...I beleave that the Sacramento Kings should be kept in Sacramento but not with the new arena that they are asking for, the new arena even though it sounds tempting and a really good way to generate money it would still not give off alot of buisness. People usually after an event are hungry there for would do or drive anywhere in Sacramento in order to get some food, without the new arena we would still be generateing buissness and works for the people in the Sacramento area. The other thing I beleave is that if we were to ever buld a new arena we should use a portion of the tax money since it would be benifiting the city of Sacramento and generateing employment for the surrounding local buissnesses. Lastly I do beleave that teams make money go around with all the advertisement they have such as, team hats, shirts and other sports apperel makeing it a good market and even more when you have a winning team, all we need is better players for the Sacramento Kings and we would start haveing great seasons and start selling more game tickets and therefor more money comeing into the funds of Sacramento county.

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  19. i dont think that we sould give our tax dollers up to build a new arena for the kings. the only reason sacramento wants to build the arena is to keep the kings and they are trying to get people on board by saying that arco is run down and falling apart. we could spent that money on hiring teachers for schools and paving run down roads. arco arena is empty during a kings game but it is sold out when lady gaga or jay z comes to town. the problem isnt the arena, its the kings.
    jose jimenez period 2

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  20. I'm all for having a second arena built in Sac, it will bring a lot of revenue to the city. But I don't think tax payers should play for a bunch of men to play ball.

    Why can't the team build their OWN arena? If they want one so bad, why not buy land and build one themselves? It seems pretty selfish to me to threaten a city by leaving if they don't pay for a new stadium, and then charge for tickets to every game and make MORE money. All of the players live in million dollar mansions and drive 200,000 dollar cars, they can suck it up and deal with a pay cut. God forbid they have to downsize or drive a cheaper car! Those poor men deserve the world on a pedestal because they can run and shoot hoops.

    Sports are great and all and they're great for a city, but it makes me angry that they make the money they do and still want more. Suck it up, guys.

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