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The rumors that George Maloof does not want to be in Sacramento are "100% false" said the Kings co-owner Friday.

In an interview with KFBK, Maloof said "my word is my bond" and added that he is "not focusing on anything other than Sacramento."

"We are not looking at Anaheim or Seattle or anywhere else," he said from Las Vegas.

George also expanded on a Thursday report that revealed the Kings owners were not willing to put up part of the pre-development costs for the arena.

"I have done a lot of development projects, hotels, etc," Maloof argued. "Never had the tenant been asked to put up money for pre-development."

The city of Sacramento is seeking $3.26 million from the Kings owners to help pay for design and legal matters before the first shovel hits the dirt. Maloof claims that the Kings are not guaranteed their money back should the arena project fall apart.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson wrote in a statement that "It was with that spirit that we all agreed to a deal in Orlando, (Florida) including the Maloof family, who looked an entire room in the eye and promised their commitment to Sacramento. In light of the Maloofs' promise, we fully expect all parties to live up to their commitments."

George responded with, "As in all negotiations there are going to be hang ups. I expect there will likely be more. Even when all parties have good intentions, sometimes things just don't work."

NBA Commissioner David Stern said he has advised Mayor Johnson that the NBA will advance pre-development expenses on behalf of the Kings pending the NBA's report to the NBA Board of Governors at its meeting on April 12-13.

When asked if the NBA was pressuring the Kings into a deal, George would only say that "like with anybody you work with, we have disagreements."

The $73 million the team has pledged was a non-binding agreement, but Maloof said the team will put up the money once a contractual deal is in place and the arena is a go for all parties involved. The Las Vegas resident believes it is still too early.

"Maybe we should have waited to go to city council until a more firm agreement was agreed to," Maloof said.

The hitch now is largely why George was hesitant to sign on in Florida. He claims the family did not get the initial term sheet until 8 days before the meetings at NBA All-Star Weekend.

While some believe George is attempting to sabotage the arena deal he refutes that notion, and added "it is not true that he wants out" of the Capitol City.

"I love Sacramento, it is a great place."

Love and business are two separate things however; the Maloofs will find both from the fans just as long as the snags are kept to a minimum.

Las Vegas hasn’t posted odds, but the Anschutz Entertainment Group President Tim Leiweke called Sacramento a “good bet.”

“When we get this built,” Leiweke told reporters confidently at City Hall Tuesday. “We will have one of the great arenas not just in the United States, but anywhere in the world.”

AEG, which is slated to become the arena operator, will put up $58.75 million toward the construction of the $391 million dollar complex slated for the Railyards in downtown.

“That is the second largest commitment they have made to any city in the United States,” Mayor Kevin Johnson said. “They believe in our potential and they believe in our market.”

Leiweke in a boisterous tone added, “Our obligation is not just the investment. The difference between us and nothing more than a bank, is that we are with you everyday.”

Tuesday’s meetings involved AEG staff, city officials, the Maloofs as well as NBA Relocation Committee Chair and current Oklahoma City Thunder owner Clay Bennett.

While this was the first time all three major players were in the same room together, the relationship between Leiweke and Johnson began nearly two years ago.

Former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger introduced the Oak Park native to the AEG president. Leiweke took Johnson on a tour through the L.A. Live complex that surrounds the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.

“I’m going through all of these cool buildings, and I am just salivating” Johnson recalled.

At that time Leiweke told Johnson he was willing to give the city “counsel” and “input,” promising if Sacramento made some major strides, AEG would listen to a formal arena proposal.

Fast forward to the spring of 2011 and the two sides began serious discussions. It was the worst kept secret, but for eleven months AEG officials refused to discuss their involvement. That is until the Sacramento City Council approved 7-2 to move forward on a new sports and entertainment complex on March 6th.

“I must excuse our absence in the debate,” Leiweke apologized. “We didn’t think it was an appropriate place to weigh in because we are not residents of Sacramento.”

Terms between the NBA/Kings and AEG regarding the revenue splits from arena signage and luxury suite sales along with the various obligations each will assume will start being hashed out on Wednesday in Southern California.

The deadline for the city and AEG to enter into a memorandum of understanding is set for April 15th. The deal will guarantee that the Los Angeles-based firm will operate the arena for the next 30 years.

“In the industry there are a lot of people betting against us,” Leiweke said. “We’ve never failed with an arena, ever, and it is not going to start here.”

Coming from a company that operates 130 venues across the world, Sacramento may be making a “good bet” too.

-Rob McAllister

It may no longer be a “do nothing city.”

Failed attempt after failed attempt, the Sacramento City Council bucked the trend and approved 7-2 to move forward on the construction of a new $391 million sports and entertainment complex at the Railyards.

“Our community just fought and fought. We defied the odds,” Mayor Kevin Johnson said moments before outstretching his arms and joyfully yelling “yes” when casting his vote.

“I really do think this is starting a new decade,” said Councilman Jay Schenirer. “This is about getting the ball to the right people in the right places and that is what we are doing.”

A passionate opening speech by City Manager John Shirey set the tone for a historic evening inside City Hall.

“We need to shed the image that this is a place to somewhere else.”

Mayor Johnson has reiterated the statement that the arena “is more than just about basketball” since the effort began last Spring, but Shirey also reminded council “We should not underestimate the exposure we get from having a NBA team.”

Kings’ co-owner Gavin Maloof and the team’s starting point guard Isaiah Thomas were in the crowd to hear Councilman Steve Cohn say, “My heart has always been with the Kings, but until this deal my mind wasn’t (for publicly financing an arena).”

Joining Cohn, Johnson, Schenirer, Angelique Ashby, Darrell Fong, Rob Fong and Bonnie Pannell in support of the arena were a large army of residents dressed in white shirts that read “5 Votes.”

One supporter stood before the council to say “I think this is a major step forward in Sacramento’s future.”

The good mood might have swarmed through the city hall after the vote, but there were the detractors before the celebration.

“We have a plan that has the city paying for 2/3 of the costs” said Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy. “I just can not support this.”

“For me the risk is too great,” added Councilman Kevin McCarty.

Opponents who spoke believed the money could be used for parks and other services instead of a new arena.

A member of the Tax Payers League asking council, “Are you really willing to give up 9 million in revenue?”

The City believes they will be replacing those dollars with revenues primarily from ticket surcharges and general arena revenue.

“We are excited as we have ever been,” said Michael Ault of the Downtown Partnership

“This is a game changer.”

What’s Next? Planning, Design & Review.

Consultants and lawyers for the city will begin work on the parking options in the coming weeks.

The city is pushing ahead on a request for proposal process so that the council can get a better idea of what leasing out the public parking spaces will generate in terms of up front money to put toward arena construction costs.

With concerns of “giving away parking” like Chicago and other cities have supposedly done, some city council members said they are determined to not make the same mistakes.

An option does include creating what is known as a not for profit public parking authority which then allows the city to borrow against future revenue.

The benefits include having more control over parking rates but the downsides often include having to meet the payments even as projections fall short.

Even if the city decides to borrow by using bonds, it will be worthwhile for the council to see if a private firm will give Sacramento a great deal more to assume control over the next 50 years.

A source close to the parking monetization deals suggests one of the private firms is willing to break even or take a small loss so that the company can be first in line when another city decides to privatize its parking in a similar deal.

It would be tough for the city to get more money upfront through borrowing than it would be privatizing, but the pros and cons will be debated until June.

Design:

The conceptual drafts released by the city serve as a way to give the public an idea of how an arena may look at the Railyards site, but the real design will not begin until late March.

Populous has done the work so far and it appears the nationally recognized firm will continue in the coming months with the arena design.

Size constraints and other traffic issues will all be factors in the design.

Review:

Assembly Bill 900 limits the disruption environmental lawsuits can do to major projects, but that does not mean arenas and stadiums get a free pass. Part of the requirements includes preparing an environmental impact report to appease the California Environmental Quality Act.

Work must begin on a report that details how the Railyards’ arena will impact the surrounding land and water in downtown Sacramento.

Per rules from AB 900, city staff will have to work closely with the Governor’s office as well as the California Air Resources Board during the review process.

The environmental review may not be complete until April 2013.

Where the $850K is Going:

Barrett Sports Group will receive $300,000 for playing the lead role in the arena effort, a financial advisor will be paid $50,000: a parking consultant will get $50,000: transaction attorneys will see $250,000 and other legal counsel needed will be paid $200,000.

The fees will be spread out over a three month period.

Future expenses will be needed if the council decides to move forward on privatizing the public parking garages and spaces.

The entire pre-development costs will total $13 million with the city chipping in half and AEG/Kings contributing the rest.

A last minute effort by one councilwoman is underway to encourage her fellow representatives to vote “no” on the arena financial term sheet Tuesday night.

District 2 Representative Sandy Sheedy already attempted to put the parking lease deal before voters, a move that would have killed the $391 million project, and now she hopes the rest of the council will reject the proposed outline.

In Sheedy’s 12 page paper titled, ‘STOP! Think… RECONSIDER?’, she questions the actual impact the arena will have on the city economically and how many jobs will be created.

Think Big Sacramento cites more than 4,000 people will be put to work and that there will be an economic boost to the city by $7 billion over the next 30 years. Sheedy claims the impact will be far less based on various arena studies and reports.

In one instance the near bankrupt city of Stockton is mentioned, “…leaders bet on the redevelopment prospects of a baseball stadium and hockey arena. Redevelopment never happened…”

The report goes on to detail various biases the Think Big members likely have and thus claim various information is being with held or not used at all. The paper takes on a ‘consultant versus economist’ tone through out.

The thesis was sent to every councilmember except for Mayor Kevin Johnson. There is no explanation to as why by the District 2 Representative.

Calls and emails to Sheedy have not been returned to KFBK, but Mayor Johnson did respond to the report during the Tuesday morning press conference.

“This is what is a little bit odd for me,” Johnson said. “Apparently that so called ‘white paper’ was sent to everyone on council and I was not included on that.”

As to the report Johnson added, “I think it is totally her prerogative to surface as much information as she or anybody feels that would be helpful for this dialogue.”

Various labor groups and business chambers are backing the arena effort and have urged council to vote in favor of the financial term sheet that spells out how much the city, arena operator and Kings will pay toward construction.

-Rob McAllister

(Drawings bu Populous)

Two new drawings of what a new arena could look like were released by the city of Sacramento on Friday.

The renderings are conceptual mock ups. The arena could look quite different once the design phase is complete in 2013.

“This is a preview into Sacramento’s bright future,” said Mayor Kevin Johnson in a statement.

Councilman Steve Cohn added during a press conference at City Hall, “This is just a visual of how things might come together and how exciting this building may look.”

Populous, a design group drew up the sketches that include how the transportation hub and adjoining hotel could be constructed next to the sports and entertainment complex north of I Street and west of Interstate 5.

If all goes as planned the $391 million project could be built by September of 2015.

-Rob McAllister

(Drawings bu Populous)