Of course News10 is trying to show support for
the Arena since they carry the Kings on free TV.

I don't think the people who proposed Q&R are quite ready for the size of the defeat they're about to witness. Even the majority of season ticket holders oppose this deal now.

I think this will end in about as close to a shutout as you can have in politics.

There's talk of reviving this again in June 2008, but the problem with that idea is that they'll again try to use only a sales tax to fund it, somehow expecting different results. They did try an end-around on the 2/3 vote requirement; if this had received 51% of the vote, the courts would have thrown out the result of the election anyway. My point being, they won't get 50%, let alone the 2/3 vote this thing will ultimately need.

Next, June 2008 is a mayoral election. Rob Fong was considered the front-runner, and I doubt he'll want to hitch his campaign to another arena proposal. That makes me wonder, what politician will want to be associated with this in June 2008? That's only 20 months from now. Voters will remember this debacle.

I already think Fong won't get to be mayor now. I just don't see him pushing for an arena AND running for mayor, and I think pretty much any other candidate will run away from an arena deal.

And if they DO pass it in 2008, will the Maloofs really be willing to wait until 2012 (at the earliest) to move in to their new building? Why should they, when they can just move to Anaheim with zero risk?

The voters were right to reject Q&R; no pol will want to touch this in June 2008; Anaheim is practically free; the Maloofs won't wait until 2012 for an arena.

I just don't see this happening.

This was absolutely crushed last night. According to the Secretary of State's office, with 970 of 970 precincts counted, Q (174,182-69,331, or 71.53% opposed) and R (194,351-47,964, or 80.21% opposed) both lost by extremely large margins.

The funny part is that Sandy Smoley, who heads the campaign, then got on TV and talked about all the momentum this had generated. The arena backers now want to form a "non-profit" organization to study how to get this done, with an eye to the 2008 election.

Rob Fong even hinted they may try to proceed without having an election.

It's amazing. A near-historic defeat (this was as close to a shutout as possible in an election) has generated momentum? Um... In which direction?

I am quite proud of the result here. We didn't raise taxes on people who cannot afford tickets to Kings games, handing those revenues to a billionaire family. Democracy wins again.

I really think the Kings will leave now. I just cannot see them waiting until 2012 (at the absolute earliest) to get a new arena, and that would happen only in the incredibly unlikely event that we pass something in 2008. That won't happen. The Maloofs issued a statement last night; I'll try to find that for you.

The Maloofs' statement on kxtv10's website:

We respect the voters' decision. We know how hard it is to vote for any tax increase.

For the past six and a half years we have worked with local leaders to come up with a way to replace an aging ARCO Arena with a state-of-the-art sports & entertainment center in the Sacramento region. We have worked through seven different proposals utilizing a wide range of financing options. None of those efforts have produced the desired results despite countless hours of work and effort.

Nevertheless, we are committed to continue the effort. ARCO Arena is an inadequate NBA facility that increasingly constrains our ability to provide our guests with high quality entertainment experiences.

As for the question of 'what is next?' the answer is simple: we don't know. We don't know of any alternative proposal and have no other plans in the works.