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Old Posted Oct 22, 2019, 11:51 PM
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urban_encounter urban_encounter is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2005
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mt_climber13 View Post
In Sacramento, parking meters were installed all over midtown and increased rates up to 9pm and on Sundays, and parking fines were increased to pay for Golden 1 Center arena.
You’re only partially correct in regards to the Golden 1 Center. The City of Sacramento financed its share of arena construction costs through the sale of bonds ($212 million) to be repaid from mostly parking garage revenue.
But the point is they have monetized parking garages that were sitting mostly vacant evenings (after state workers fled to the burbs) and weekends when downtown was mostly deserted. Sacramento doesn’t have the kind of deep pockets that San Francisco has. Nobody is going to bankroll a privately financed arena because they’re not going to recoup their money through ticket sales, But so far it’s been a huge win for Sacramento. Pedestrian traffic in the downtown (not midtown) is up 47%; property tax revenue is up and it’s attracting more business and residential options downtown. Even RT has seen increased traffic on event nights. Golden 1 is the 15th busiest arena in the nation and 32nd in the world and it’s still a very affordable venue that won’t break the bank.

Some friends and I are planning a trip to the Chase Center to watch the Kings play the Warriors on a road trip this season and nosebleed seats are going for a staggering $200. $200 a seat with no Kevin Durant or Klay Thompson.

Ticket buyers are helping to pay off the debt on the Chase Center and again that’s partly because there are a lot of deep pockets in the Bay Area. But it’s a double edged sword because those exuberant prices will price many Bay Area residents out of attending events at the Chase Center.

So you can argue that public investments don’t pay off for communities and in some cases you would be right. That’s definitely hasn’t been the case in Sacramento and our city’s experience has so far been a positive one. There’s a lot of momentum downtown all thanks to the Golden 1 Center.



Sidenote: I like the design of the Chase Center. I think it fits I nicely along the water. I can’t wait to attend a game there.
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