I love the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. I just hate seeing those guys play in San Jose. Nothing against our South Bay friends. But their victory is Sacramento’s loss. Even last week, when our city council was voting unanimously to accept the recommendations of the Sacramento First task force and take first steps toward building a new entertainment and sports complex, some people still questioned the purpose.
The purpose has been on display in San Jose, where the NCAA Tournament has provided an estimated $20 million in revenues, including $500,000 in sales taxes and in some cases a 50 percent increase in downtown
hotel occupancy, according to the City of San Jose.
In Sacramento, we can’t compete for that $20 million. We’re out of the race. Why? Because the NCAA said Arco Arena isn’t worthy of the men’s college hoops tournament. Arco Arena is too shabby.
After hearing the NCAA’s verdict on Arco, I started organizing the Sacramento First task force. The reality of losing to cities such as San Jose was the spark that pushed me to create the “Rules of the Game” and study the feasibility of a new events center.
For months, I have said a new entertainment and sports complex is not about one team or one league. It’s about upwards of 200 events per year, about jobs, about economic development, about transforming our downtown core, about building a regional attraction and cultural gather place.
The NCAA Tournament is exactly what I’m talking about. Other cities fight to get to the games. Sacramento was once part of the mix. We lost our opportunity.
Thanks to the unanimous direction of the Sacramento City Council and the work of the Sacramento First Task Force, we are climbing back into the ring. And we are playing to win.
2 Comments
Add Comment