For the first time, potential arena operator AEG publicly addressed plans to build the proposed entertainment and sports complex. President and CEO Tim Leiweke expressed confidence in the project, calling the capital city a “good bet” in a joint press conference with Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1cu4VD1HZ8&w=560&h=315]Quotes from Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson
“When you think about this country, we are one of the two most important capitals in the country – right here in Sacramento. We’re not just 470 thousand people. We are part of a region that makes up 2 million people. It makes us one of the top 20 TV markets in the country. That is the Sacramento that we can be. But we need world-class partners and you need world-class facilities, and you need people of that caliber. Well, what we did is land one of the very best in the world, AEG, to be one of our partners on this new arena deal.”
“As a community, you know that they have made nearly $60 million in equity-investor commitment in Sacramento. That is the second largest commitment they’ve made to any city in the United States and one of their top five or six in the world. They are betting on Sacramento. They believe in our potential, they believe in our market. And we have a tremendous opportunity to do something really special.”
Quotes from Tim Leiweke, President and CEO of AEG
“First and foremost, without dynamic leadership of the mayor and the council, we wouldn’t be here. But they had a vision – they stuck to it, they fought through it, they defied the odds. And those are the kind of people you not only want to bet on, but those are the kind of people you want to be in the trenches with.”
“A lot of people look at us and say: ‘Why Sacramento? It’s not on the same level from a population base as those other communities that you’re in.’ Well this one’s simple. It’s our home state. This is the capital of our home state. We have 24-thousand people. And we are based in California, proud of California and we are all about California.” AEG spent over $100 million in city, state and county taxes in Los Angeles.
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