Monday, January 13, 2014

Problems With the New Kings Arena

    To be fair, I'm not a fan of the Sacramento King's, but that doesn't mean that I am against them.  I don't believe that building a new arena downtown is going to solve any local problems, nor do I think it is right to carry out these plans without consulting those who live and work in the immediate area. They are the ones who will be immediate effected, so why not ask for a vote? Some of  City Council members say that they were elected to make decisions such as these. This suggest that they understand the mounting disapproval of the stadium and are afraid of it being turned down. Instead they chose withhold that power, from those who it could most benefit. 
    One of the arguments being made for the arena are that it'll pay for its self by attracting more people to the area, reviving downtown. If this does work ( and that is a mighty big IF ) it'll just be turning the place the stadium used to be, into a huge slum, essentially unplugging its life support. 



2 comments:

  1. The old location? As in Sleep Train Arena? It's in the middle of Natomas and is worth a small fortune to developers. It is surrounded by new development and would be quickly infilled with housing, offices and retail once opened up.

    I'm not a huge proponent of the "it will pay for itself" argument, but I do hope it revitalizes a part of our core that I have seen fall to blight on three separate occasions since I have been here.

    And I like the idea that there will be a place for the Kings to play, a place for my kids to see the circus. I would like Madonna and Bruce Springfield to come here the next time they tour instead of skipping Sacramento in favor of Stockton. I'd like to see the return of the NCAA tournament and the tourism dollars it brings, which stopped using Sleep Train Arena because they considered it substandard for a college basketball game.

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  2. I agree with you on how there should be a vote on the new arena to see where people stand on this situation. I am one of those people who live in the immediate area and I feel as though there shouldn't be a new arena. Yes it may attract people and revive downtown which is great but can you imagine all the construction that will happen and how it may disrupt individuals in the immediate are. I feel it would be a total mess. But if they held a vote on how people felt on the arena the City Council will have a much better understanding on the affects of the new arena and if it would be a good plan to keep going with the development on it.

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