Dear Sports and Gaming Blog Team Members,
As my first post to your blog, I thought I would give you feedback on your presentation yesterday in class, on the Sacramento Kings, their new arena and the role of sports in society.
First, Hamid, you did a terrific job of opening and closing the presentation, providing a framework and structure for the other group members' presentations and explaining how sports events help foster a sense of community in keeping with a pursuit of happiness. I particularly appreciated the GLOK acronym for dealing with an active shooter situation, which seemed particularly appropriate given what had happened earlier in the class! I am pretty sure everyone was listening very carefully to the instructions!
Then, Anthony did a really good job of laying out the use of the new arena and the potential uses for the old one. I think the use of the video showing the new arena was extremely helpful in understanding the new arena and its different uses, and how it will interact with the surrounding community. Using the EIR report was effective in understanding the level of legal analysis such a big venture entails. I was interested in the local city councilwoman's efforts to keep Sleep Train from being demolished, and the short timeframe in coming up with an alternative use. Frankly, I would be surprised if they pulled it off, but it's worth trying.
Next, Charlotte's explanation and analysis of the Kings' decision to stay in Sacramento was extremely useful in understanding the ways Mayor Kevin Johnson had to work with the NBA and the Maloofs to stave off an attempt by Anaheim first, and then Seattle, to purchase the team. Knowing the numbers was very helpful in understanding that it was no easy feat to get them to stay.
Then, Robert laid out the cost of the arena, the $448 million building and its 18,500 seats, and talked about the purchase of the old Macy's store downtown, and the city's role in purchasing the property from its owners.
Finally, Sonya went through the economic analysis, showing the $700 million benefit of the arena over 30 years. She explained that the arena would be built with $190 million from the Kings ownership, and $258 million from the city, and that the city's portion would come from parking fees, parking meters and sales taxes.
To conclude, you can see that I learned an awful lot that I didn't already know from your presentation. You should all be proud of how well your presentation went. Congratulations!
This is for Robert, who is still skeptical about the cost and worthiness of the project: