The sporty side of Sacramento is getting a whole new look as construction continues on the King’s new arena. Given its name in June 2015, the Golden 1 Center is estimated to cost one billion dollars by the time of its completion. Besides a basketball court, the center is set to include a huge public plaza right next to a luxury hotel. The arena has been several years in the making, the first move beginning in 2011 with mayor Kevin Johnson’s dogged campaign to find new owners for the Kings, as well as his mission to persuade the City Council to approve 255 million dollars of public funds to build the Golden 1 Center.
The road to the new King’s stadium has not been an easy one. Controversy still surrounds its construction; residents of Sacramento are torn in their support, as reported by the New York Times in an article about the new stadium. Many consider the prospect of a new arena to be a negative thing and think that the construction costs would drag the city into debt. Those on this side of the controversy point to the King’s losing record of 29 wins and 53 losses last season as well as almost 10 years without an appearance in the playoffs as support for their argument that an unsuccessful team would not bring enough economic interest to the arena.
Conversely, those who support the arena stand with Kevin Johnson in the belief that the addition of the new arena will not only renew Sacramento’s civic pride but also bring in new business and job opportunities, according to the Times. Supporters of the Golden 1 Center believe it has already offered some economic aid since it has replaced the underperforming Downtown mall. Many also feel that having an NBA team in Sacramento is just plain cool and would like to see the Kings carry on.
Even without a city-wide consensus, production continues as the future Golden 1 Center gets bigger and bigger each day. As of now, the arena is set to be ready for the 2016 NBA season. No one knows exactly what the new arena will mean for the Kings or for the city of Sacramento but one thing is for sure – Sacramento is about to get a lot more sporty!
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