Sacramento is in the midst of its final round of negotiations to nail down a new downtown arena plan. If no deal is reached with prospective Kings owners Mark Mastrov and Ron Burkle, council will likely know that in advance according to city manager John Shirey.
“If we see that we don’t have an agreement with the investor group, we will let you know that sometime tomorrow (Wednesday) probably,” Shirey said in his comments to city council last night. “So we’re still on track to get that done.”
Shirey provided his weekly update on the project at yesterday’s council meeting and remained optimistic that a term sheet would be in place by Thursday’s deadline.
“It will take every minute between now and then to achieve that,” Shirey said. “But we are committed to having that done.”
The city is finalizing an arena term sheet with the major equity investors in mayor Kevin Johnson’s proposed effort to buy the Kings and keep them in Sacramento. The term sheet is expected to be released to the public tomorrow, with a vote by council scheduled for next Tuesday.
City officials are negotiating with the Burkle/Mastrov group on a public/private partnership that would construct a new home for the Kings at the site of the Downtown Plaza. Using last year’s arena plan that the Maloof family rejected as a model, the city is hoping to monetize its downtown parking spaces to fund a major portion of the project. Those city-owned assets valued at approximately $255 million in last year’s proposal.
One major difference in this year’s plan is the absence of AEG. The entertainment firm, which recently pulled itself off the market last week, is not in talks to be an equity investor in the arena this time around. Instead, Mastrov and Burkle are expected to shoulder the financial load in this year’s plan.
Shirey also made note of three public forums that will address the arena issue in the coming days. Dates, times and location for each are listed in order below. More information can be found at the City of Sacramento website.
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Thursday, March 21st, 2013 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the New City Hall Foyer & City Council Chambers.
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Friday, March 22nd, 2013 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Robertson Center at 3525 Norwood Avenue in Sacramento.
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Saturday, March 23rd, 2013 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in the Sam Pannell Community Center at 2450 Meadowview Road in Sacramento.
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