The moment of truth is finally upon us. After a short delay, the city of Sacramento released the final contracts and reports for the new downtown Sacramento Entertainment and Sports Complex. According to the official press release, the Mayor, City Council and general public now have 11 days to review the information before City Council will take a vote on May 20.
“Today marks another important milestone in our partnership with the City of Sacramento,” Kings President Chris Granger said in an official press release. “We thank them for their efforts and look forward to presenting the final details of this extraordinary project to the Mayor, Council and public on May 20.”
The vote was originally scheduled for May 13, but was delayed last week. A person with knowledge of the negotiations told Cowbell Kingdom that the delay was nothing more than “dotting i’s and crossing t’s”, which proved correct today.
Included in today’s release are legally binding definitive project agreements for a 35-year public-private partnership between the team and the city. Also included is the finance agreement and key planning, design and environmental review components, including the Final Environmental Impact Report.
The total project cost is being slated at $477 million, with the city’s cash contribution coming in at $233 million and the Kings’ portion sitting at $254 million. The team will lock in to a 35-year lease with the city on the new building and will pay approximately $391 million in lease payments over the course of that agreement, beginning with annual payments of $6.5 million.
The city will issue lease-revenue bonds to pay its share of the project. Repayment of the bonds will come from a combination of lease payments, parking revenue, hotel tax revenue and revenue streams generated by the new ESC.
May 20 is looking to be a huge night in Sacramento. Not only will the definitive agreements go to a vote, but that is also the night of the NBA Draft lottery, where the Kings hope to move up from their slotted seventh overall selection. The litany of documents are available for review at the city of Sacramento’s website.
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