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Greg Van Dusen talks with Jason Ross of KHTK 1140 on Renovation

By Aykis16
Kyle Terada - US PRESSWIRE

Greg Van Dusen, one of the original Kings executives responsible for bringing the Kings to Sacramento from Kansas City back in the 80's, went onto Jason Ross's show on KHTK 1140 yesterday to discuss renovation of Sleep Train Arena. Van Dusen and his group, which features Rann Haight, the original architect of both Arco I and II, have been trumpeting renovation for the past couple of years now, but have been relegated to the background as the focus has been primarily on a new downtown arena. But with that plan dead, Van Dusen's renovation plan has come to the forefront a bit more.

The renovation plan is still shrouded in a bit of secrecy, particularly in how it would get funded, which in the end is all that matters. But there were still some nice details given by Van Dusen in his interview.

On why focus on renovation:

  • Infrastructure is already there, which drastically lowers cost
  • Presence of both I-5 and I-80 allow for traffic to disperse much easier than other locations, as well as make it more of a regional hub
On specific changes that would be made:
  • Sight lines and proximity to the court would be unaffected as this is probably the one good thing about the current arena.
  • Approx. 50,000 square feet would be added to the basement/operations level, which will mainly help for bringing events in as those facilities need some heavy modernization.
  • Another 50,000 square feet would be added to the concourses by pushing out each side of the building.
  • The top level of the arena is currently office space, but those offices would be taken out and turned into a club lounge
  • Seat capacity would be increased by 1,000-1,200 to try to make capacity around 18,500
  • Current upper level will be changed into two levels.
  • New levels would mean new entrances would be needed and escalators and stairways will be added for travel between levels.
  • Existing facilities like restrooms and concessions would be removed and replaced with more modern ones.
Van Dusen said that their estimates are that the renovation would cost $150 million maximum, but he would not really get into how that money would be paid for. He did say that they have a lot of potential funding sources, but the only one he mentioned was selling stock in the arena to help fund the renovation. Again, that's only a potential funding source and there is nothing concrete there.

Van Dusen and his group have recently met with the Kings on the arena renovation and while Van Dusen said he didn't want to speak on the Maloofs' behalf, he did say they seemed to have their concerns satisfied (we all know the Maloofs are reliable in sharing their concerns). As for a timeline, Van Dusen mentioned that work would primarily be done in the offseason, and could be completed in two offseasons.

Talk is all well and good, but before I can really get behind an arena renovation plan, I need to see some concrete details on how the thing is going to get financed, and we need the Maloofs to get publicly on board and stop focusing on relocation first.

You can listen to Van Dusen's Interview for yourself here. Thanks to Kevin for the FanShot.

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