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Sacramento Kings: New Arena Controversies Continue

By John von Volkli

Jan 17, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Jeremiah Taylor hugs Sacramento Kings mascot Slamson after making a half court shot to win a car during a timeout of the first quarter between the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Clippers at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 17, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Jeremiah Taylor hugs Sacramento Kings mascot Slamson after making a half court shot to win a car during a timeout of the first quarter between the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Clippers at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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While the construction project on the Sacramento Kings’ court continues over the summer, the construction of the court itself continues to progress despite the kinds of obstacles which so often are entailed in a development enterprise.

Though one major lawsuit regarding the sale of the team in 2013 has had its book closed (likely for good), legal troubles and controversy continue to shade the creation of downtown Sacramento’s newest and biggest attraction.

Turner Construction, the firm hired to bring together Kings owner Vivek Ranadive’s highly advanced replacement for Sleep Train Arena, is continuing to pour concrete, bond steel, and piece together decks for the ambitious new structure. The as-yet unnamed arena, located in Sacramento’s Downtown Plaza, will be open for business by fall of 2016, per Sacramento’s Business Journal.

In a recent interview with the Sacramento Bee‘s Claudia Buck, Ranadive described his vision for the new venue as “pushing the envelope,” saying the arena would be “the world’s smartest building, the greenest.”

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The vision and the way it has been communicated has been very Ranadive-ish: all futurist enthusiasm, tech-savvy in the name of creating a better product and a better customer experience.

In speaking with Buck, Ranadive outlined his vision as being that of a near-sentient, intuitive site which would guide you to your parking spot, your seat, and anywhere your curiosity would take you without the burden of having to take your phone out during your visit.

Whether Turner can deliver on these visions has yet to be seen, but we’ll find out if they can around the time we find out if Nik Stauskas is a solid NBA contributor.

While grandiose technological schemes are tinkered with and structural components are assembled, a legal appeal filed by opponents of the Downtown Plaza construction was filed and rejected by California’s Supreme Court after continuous dismissals by circuit courts.

The suit in question was filed by a group led by Adriana Saltonstall, California’s former director of the Department of Transportation. This continued legal action by Saltonstall and her allies had been sauntering forward since this time last year, when the group of construction opponents cited environmental concerns and community harm as their cause for objection.

As Saltonstall has alleged over the past year, the site and its component attractions would cause substantial traffic congestion, environmental degradation in the form of air pollution, and would be a surefire hub for sports-inspired riots like those sometimes seen following a major event (the 1992 Chicago riots following the Bulls’ Finals triumph over the Blazers).

This, of course, implies that the Kings may head to the NBA Finals in the coming years, which is a charmingly optimistic reading of the not-too-distant future.

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    • The dismissal of Saltonstall’s case leaves another suit by three Sacramentans bringing forth allegations of fraud and financial misconduct including the transfer of rights to parking facilities and digital advertisement billboards, with these rewards totaling a purported $100 million in value.

    Emails and documents pulled for the lawsuit supposedly show a sequence of give and take in which Vivek Ranadive, mayor (and former Cavs/Suns point guard) Kevin Johnson, and city officials collude to further compensate team ownership during the completion of the Plaza project. That case is expected to be heard before a judge in late June, according to the Bee.

    The total cost for the new Plaza project is to reach, in total, $447 million — with the City of Sacramento paying a $223 million portion. By the time ground breaks in October 2016, who knows how many other legal squabbles will have come and gone — and come and gone again.

    At this point, there is really no filling the hole in the Plaza, no turning back the clock on the Kings’ and the city’s plan to finish this job. Whether the city decides to settle and bury the collusion story remains to be seen.

    One thing is certain: the Kings will need to put excellent product on the floor to consolidate the popular support that comes from such a massive project and public sector investment. We’ll know more as the (post-)NBA Draft moves take place. In the interim months, one can still see one heck of a show at Ye Olde Sleep Train Arena.

    Keep those fingers crossed over the summer.

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