By Shradha Singh, Staff writer
“The bigger they are, the harder they fall.” This is certainly not applicable in the case of the Downtown Plaza. Little more than three months after the city finally made the decision to start construction of the new Sacramento Kings arena in late July, the declining shopping center the stadium’s replacing has already been reduced to little more than bare, smooth earth. All the buildings along L Street, including the Macy’s building, have been demolished, as well as the structures along J Street and the north side of the mall.
This stage of construction, which was completed in early October, has set the stage for the building of the Sacramento Kings arena’s foundation, which began recently. Once this is done, vertical construction of the stadium will begin around February or March. Onlookers can expect to see the shell of the arena start to take shape by next spring or early summer. Like the one before it, the new arena, with its 17,500 seats, will be among the smallest seating stadiums within the NBA. However it will be made with profit in mind, with more seats in its lower bowl, driving up ticket prices. There will also be more “premium” and VIP seats available, another way of boosting revenue. The building will also be among the most Wifi connected stadiums in the country, which is sure to please Internet lovers. And, at 745,000 square feet, the new arena will be about 70 percent bigger than Sleep Train.
So far workers have reported no issues in construction, and the project has continued smoothly. This comes as a clear contrast to the years of conflict regarding the placement of an arena in downtown Sacramento that started in 2002. It was originally proposed to be constructed in the empty railyards. However, the continued reluctance of the city to finance such an expensive venture delayed plans, which only came to fruition in late 2013, after threats to take the team from Sacramento to Seattle. Strong protest from fans, a change in ownership, and the promise of a new arena in the heart of California’s capital were the only things that kept the team from leaving. And despite the addition of other problems, including the city’s successful eminent domain suit against Macy’s to seize much needed land for the building, plans for the arena have still gone on and the team has stayed. Still the danger is not yet over for Kings fans, as the $447.7 million structure needs to be completed by October 2016, or the team will be moved by the NBA to Seattle, as agreed to by the city. Meanwhile, lawsuits are still pending on the $255 million subsidy the city is expected to put forward for the arena, and whether or not the issue ought to be put to a vote on the upcoming June ballot. Only time will tell whether this obstacle will also pose a problem to the stadium, or like the ones before it, this too will pass.