by James Ham and Jonathan Santiago
It’s crunch-time here in the Sacramento. With less than a month until the NBA’s March 1st relocation deadline, it’s safe to say that city staff and officials have gone into overdrive in the push to build a new downtown arena. Joining us for an update on where the capital city stands is Jeremiah Jackson, project manager for Think Big Sacramento.
Highlights
- So, what ‘s next? “I think there’ll be two, kind of, major steps… (The first) really will be the step to enter into the RFP (request for proposal) process (on leasing city parking spaces and garages to a private operator), which would hopefully be on the 14th (next week) or shortly thereafter. And then looking at that final step after that, which would be actually entering into a deal with the NBA…”
- A report from the Seattle Times over the weekend suggested that Seattle is watching Sacramento’s situation closely as part of its efforts bring the NBA back to the Emerald City. “We’re not concerned with these other cities. I think there’s always going to be rumors until you actually get a deal done. But every indication we have is that the NBA is committed to Sacramento and that if there’s a deal to get done here…that the team will stay, that hopefully the Maloofs will remain as owners of the team and that we’ll really be able to move forward right here in Sac.”
- Is the goal to pay for the entertainment and sports complex up-front as opposed to having any debt service? “Absolutely. And so you know, some things are more annual revenue streams. But as much as we can, we’ve always said we’re going to protect the taxpayers and we want to prevent the city from taking on long-term debt. And so the parking deal, AEG’s portion of this, the team and the NBA’s portion of this – we’re looking to line up as much of that money up front as possible and really leave the city with no need to have long-term debt.”
Listen after the jump…
[podcast]http://www.cowbellkingdom.com/podcasts/ck_podcast_ep31.mp3[/podcast]
Music Credit: Ronald Jenkees – Guitar Sound
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