Ok, so I know I said I had to work, so I couldn't post, and it's true, I do have work to do, but have you seen the latest news about the arena? Insane. Their shit is falling through, big-time. I am really starting to think that the Kings might leave eventually. To sum up, their Natomas land scam is not working out because the Maloofs are too greedy. They are not happy with these landowners paying for a $300 million arena. They want a guarantee of $400 million. Which, at least according to the Bee's article, would make it the most expensive sports arena ever built by about 100 million bucks. And the Maloofs want a guarantee it would be built by 2008, which is out of the question because there are a million things that need to be done including: deciding on an arena site, getting an environmental review (which hopefully would stop the whole thing in its tracks anyway), selling the land, etc., etc. They probably want this guarantee because they are ready to turn around and sell the team for at least twice what they bought them for (and probably much more than that) as soon as a new arena is part of the deal. The best part came at the end of the article when Greedy Maloof indicated that they will do their part by finally starting to pay back the $85 million that they owe the city. In other news, I'm gonna notify the federal government that I'm ready to think about starting to pay back my student loans any time now. Oh wait, I've been paying them back for over a year already because when you borrow money, you usually don't get to pick the timetable for paying it back or just not pay it at all.
I like the Kings as much as anyone else, but the arena project is just bad. First, selling all that land is a huge windfall for Sacto cronies and no one else--and bad for the environment and yet another boon to sprawl-mongers to boot. Secondly, I can't think of a city that's recouped the costs of financing an arena, even while the team owners make gobs of cash on those coveted luxury seats. Thirdly, there are just better ways for this city to spend its moolah. I wouldn't mind us actually taking some time to consider various proposals at the same time instead of hopping on every kooky idea as it comes across the wires, only to be shot down because ultimately they are all stupid!
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