Arena deal just gets better and better …

… if your last name is Maloof, that is. From R.E. Graswich in this morning’s Bee:

Sacramento City Councilman Steve Cohn figured taxpayers would get a raw deal from the new Kings arena proposal. Then he ran the numbers. It’s much worse than Steve dreamed. “Incredibly, we would be better off building the arena and giving it away to Joe and Gavin Maloof,” said Steve of the happy Las Vegas brothers who own the Kings. “The rent they will pay is less than what they would pay in property taxes, by 2 or 3 million dollars a year.” As proposed, the public will own the new arena. That means zero property taxes.

Here’s the rest. Read it and open your wallet … or vote “no” on the arena measure that won’t be mentioning “arena” in it.

World-class city or world-class suckers? I’m not opposed to a downtown sports venue — love Denver’s and San Diego’s — but this deal doesn’t work for me. As for the Maloof’s recent civic generosity … oh, puh-lease.

7 thoughts on “Arena deal just gets better and better …”

  1. Folks are getting too caught up in how sweet this proposed deal is for the Maloofs. Take them out of the equation and just look at what you’re putting in and what you’re getting out and make your decision based on that.

    For me, a few extra a dollars a year to keep the Kings, bring some new life to downtown and raise some extra money for the city seems like a good deal.

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  2. I’m kind of sick of being the resident defender of this deal, even though I’m not sure if I’m for it or agin’ it. The flipside to Graswich’s story is that if we gave the arena to the Maloofs, local government wouldn’t own a $500 million building.

    Whether the building would have value in 30 years is a valid question, but other well-built arenas like Madison Square Garden and The Arena in Oakland are old buildings that still have value.

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  3. I’m just glad that after all of the abuse you’ve taken you still consider yourself a resident of The Sac Rag!

    I don’t understand Cohn’s/Weintraub’s assertion either. What are the remaining sticking points for you, Carl? I’d love to nonviolently pull you off the fence.

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  4. It’s really a simple vote for me. It’s basically: put up with the new tax, and the Maloofs won’t take away the Arco Arena nachos. For me, a few extra dollars is worth not losing my beloved cheesy goodness. Case closed.

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  7. Carl, you’re not the lone defender (refer to my previous posts and comments.) I just stopped defending it because I got tired of being the-then-resident-unhipster-like defender.

    Sac-eats is right, don’t try to get between him and the nachos. You’d have better luck getting between a bear cub and its mama bear.

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