Audio: An arena project update from Mayor Kevin Johnson’s chief of staff

The arena project was the 13th item discussed during last night’s Sacramento city council meeting.  Mayor Kevin Johnson’s Chief of Staff Kunal Merchant spent about five minutes recapping its progress, noting that the Think Big Sacramento Committee is approximately three quarters into the 100-day study period.

Figuring out financing options is the next major step as the committee closes in on crunch time, says Merchant.

We all know the biggest piece of the puzzle is the finance piece.  And so that’s what we really wanted to focus on today, and the final 33 days are really zeroing in on that piece.  And by the 100th day, which will be the day after Labor Day, our goal is to have a menu of options for this council and the public to consider so that we can spend the September-to-December range really drilling down into those options and finalizing a finance plan.

Listen to Merchant’s update below.  Later this evening James and I will speak with Paul Maslin, a partner at the public research firm that conducted the survey which discovered favorable public interest in a new Sacramento arena, on the Cowbell Kingdom Podcast.