August 27, 2010
Cal senate won't move on Kings arena until more questions answered
Looks like the Sacramento Kings arena land swap plan has hit a stumbling block in the form of California state senate president pro tem Darrell Steinberg, who's actually (gasp!) asking questions about the deal before he'll consider enabling legislation. Among the items that Steinberg wants more info on:
- Whether Cal Expo actually wants to relocate its state fairgrounds to the Arco Arena site. (A report on this is due next month.)
- Whether the cost estimates for a move are reliable.
- What laws would need to be changed to allow the land swap.
Now, Steinberg did say that once those questions are answered, he'd consider introducing a bill in December. But the Kings arena plan still comes down to: Until Cal Expo signs on and they figure out a way to pay for, this ain't going nowhere.
A problem here is that Steinberg represented the Maloofs during the failed campaign for Q&R, the proposal to raise taxes to fund an arena in the railyard, so I'm not at all convinced Steinberg would know a good deal if it walked up and introduced itself.
Kinda sad, huh? The same guy that represented the Maloofs in the past now leads the Senate. Nope, no potential for a conflict of interest here.
Posted by MikeM on August 29, 2010 02:27 AM