The Sacramento Kings new arena will cost $477 million, with $255 million of that being funded by the City of Sacramento. The rest of the arena ($222 million) would be funded by the Sacramento Kings.
Before getting that new arena, the Kings threatened to move to Seattle. Their new half a billion dollar arena broke ground about a year ago and it’s expected to open about a year from now.
This is industry standard. Perhaps Monty Burns put it best:
“Welcome to the American dream. A billionaire, using public funds, to construct a private playground for the rich and powerful.”
It’s exactly what the Sacramento Kings did, and it will be covered in a new ESPN 30 for 30 this fall. Here’s the promotional hype write-up that ESPN PR came up with regarding it:
“Down in the Valley,” directed by Jason Hehir
What does a sports team mean to a community? For the people of Sacramento, the answer is simple – everything. For three decades, Sacramento has been the improbable home to one of the NBA’s most improbable franchises – the Kings. Through the good, the bad, and the laughably ugly, Kings fans have stood by their team. So when news broke in 2013 that the team was likely leaving for Seattle – the second time in two years that it appeared relocation was inevitable – it sent shock waves through the community.
All hope was seemingly lost until the city decided to fight back – again. At the helm was the city’s mayor, Kevin Johnson, a Sacramento native and former NBA All-Star, who seemed uniquely positioned to play point guard for the comeback attempt. “Down in the Valley” follows this historic saga from the locker room to the board room as a city and its favorite son fought to pull off perhaps the most unconventional upset in NBA history.
Tuesday, Oct. 20, 8 p.m. Central– “Down in the Valley”
Actually, that promo doesn’t make it sound like the film will be what happened at all. This is 30 for 30 though; it’s ESPN for people who think, so you know it will be good. They don’t make puff piece pablum 30 for 30s, all are thought-provoking, so I’m sure this will paint an accurate portrait of what the Sacramento Kings actually did.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is part of the FOX Sports Engage Network. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. He also appears regularly on numerous talk radio stations all across the country. Catch him Tuesdays on KOZN 1620 the Zone.