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As expected, the city of Sacramento has come to an agreement with a private equity investment group (headed up by Ron Burkle) to build an arena at the Downtown Plaza. Details are still a bit scarce, but reports indicate that the deal is for a $448 million arena with the city putting in $258 million and the private investors putting in $190 million.
From Mayor Kevin Johnson himself:
I’m pleased to announce an agreement w/ Burkle-Mastrov-Ranadive group on a public-private partnership to build a new ESC at DT Plaza Mall...
— Kevin Johnson (@KJ_MayorJohnson) March 23, 2013
Consistent w/our core tenets, the deal avoids new taxes, protects the City on the Kings loan, and ensures no net impact to the general fund…
— Kevin Johnson (@KJ_MayorJohnson) March 23, 2013
For a comparable investment to the 2012 deal, we've secured more private investment & greater econ development potential at the new site…
— Kevin Johnson (@KJ_MayorJohnson) March 23, 2013
The new ownership, historic in its reflection of our city's diversity, will invest up to $1B in Sac - a strong sign of confidence in our mkt
— Kevin Johnson (@KJ_MayorJohnson) March 23, 2013
They will also make a 35-year commitment to keep the Sacramento Kings right here where they belong!....
— Kevin Johnson (@KJ_MayorJohnson) March 23, 2013
Once again, we're proving the strength of our market – both as host to an NBA team, but as an emerging region with global potential…
— Kevin Johnson (@KJ_MayorJohnson) March 23, 2013
With all that said...I'm pumped!!Ron B & I officially closed the deal a few mins ago - maybe this pic says it best! twitter.com/KJ_MayorJohnso…
— Kevin Johnson (@KJ_MayorJohnson) March 23, 2013
Reports indicate that the last day or so of negotiations involved the city and Burkle figuring out a way to protect the city's general fund.
Other reports also indicate that the private investment group will handle the pre-development costs, something that the Maloofs would not. The city council is expected to vote upon the Arena Term Sheet on Tuesday.
We'll continue to update as information comes in. Once the term sheet is officially revealed, we'll post something with all the relevant details. Please feel free to use this thread to discuss the updates.
Also, now would be a great time to buy tickets to Here We Buy Night 2 if you haven't already. There are still plenty of affordable seats left.