Month: November 2013

The debate over Sacramento’s proposed downtown arena is usually framed as a dichotomy between “pro-arena” and “anti-arena.” (Sometimes it’s also framed as “pro-Kings” or “anti-Kings.”)

Even this public debate between R.E. Graswich and me is positioned that way. It’s a false dichotomy, of course. One can be pro-Kings, pro-arena – and anti-subsidy.

But what’s often lost in the debate is the idea of opportunity cost. If the city of Sacramento commits $258 million (or hundreds of millions more by some accounts), that’s money it can’t spend on other services to the public (like police and fire). Or other construction projects (like light rail). Or other industries (like housing in the downtown region). And many people believe that providing needed services or investing that money in other ways could be far more beneficial to downtown and the citizens of Sacramento than a basketball arena.

For example, William Burg took up the challenge of how to spend $250 million to make downtown a more vibrant area. His article in Sacramento Press outlined a three-step approach:

Step 1: Build the Downtown/Riverfront Streetcar: $130 Million.
Step 2: Add market-rate housing along the right-of-way: $70 Million.
Step 3: Complete the 800 K Project: $30 Million.

He cites examples such as the Pearl District in Portland, as well as Tampa, Florida where a streetcar project “spurred $600 million in additional public projects and $700 million in private investment.”

Today (November 21, 2013) on the Zócolo Public Square website, writer Joe Matthews suggests another approach: Opening a new Cal Poly Sacramento campus. “Don’t build a money-pit arena for the second-rate Kings,” he writes; instead, “make an investment that will transform (and maybe save) California’s capital city”:

A new basketball arena might bring a few more fans to downtown Sacramento (although fewer people attend Kings games each year than visit the average Apple retail store), but not much else. A Cal Poly campus in the very same place would bring new high-paying jobs (via faculty and administration) and educated people to the region.

Underscoring the ideas in these two articles is this: An arena may satisfy the entertainment appetite of many Kings fans, and it may bring some excitement to downtown Sacramento, but it also comes with a cost more than the money itself. The cost is the lost opportunity to invest in projects that would have greater long-term impact in the region.

Ed. note: This blog post was originally published on the Sacramento Arena Debate website.

The seed for the Sacramento arena debate between R.E. Graswich and me was first planted on Twitter. Needless to say, it was not an auspicious beginning.

On  Twitter, our initial interactions were not so much pleasant as, um, antagonistic. Confrontational. Pugilistic. We butted heads from the beginning and exchanged some choice words.

Clearly it was the start of a good relationship.

For all that I disagree with Bob Graswich on the downtown arena, I admire his initiative in reaching out across the barbed wire that separated us and suggesting that we meet in person to discuss and even debate the issue. I of course knew I was on the right side of our disagreement, but I was forced to acknowledge that he had made one or two valid points.

Meeting in person enabled us to see each other not as enemies but as individuals with different opinions who care about the same thing: the future of our city. As it turns out, Bob Graswich – father of two, happily married man, hardworking writer – is a decent guy.

The problem for many Sacramento citizens is that this whole arena issue is fraught with passion, and it’s played out in the media and the public as a sometimes nasty battle between two groups with polar opposite views. Somewhere between these two extremes lies the truth – and the opportunity for rational discussion.

That’s what we hope to offer people – some facts, some opinion, some data on which to form their own views of the city’s downtown arena plan. And yes, maybe a bit of zeal, a bit of fire. We have some fight in us.

One thing we know about our neighbors in this town: Sacramentans are passionate, especially online, but we are generally reasonable and civil in person. Bob Graswich and I intend to bring that spirit of civil debate and information-sharing to our series of town hall debates and discussions. We hope you’ll join us and ask some thought-provoking questions.

But save your hard questions for him.

Ed. note: This blog post was originally published on the Sacramento Arena Debate website.