Published: 1 years 122 days ago
Sacramento Bee: Noted downtown developer David Taylor has been tabbed by a mayoral task force as the best candidate to build a sports and entertainment arena in Sacramento.
Taylor, builder of several downtown high-rise offices, the Sheraton Grand Hotel and the new City Hall, joined forces at the last minute in December with ICON Venue Group, a national sports facility development firm, after Mayor Kevin Johnson arranged a meeting.
Task force members said they believe Taylor and ICON bring impressive experience and know-how to the table for a task that has for years been mission impossible in Sacramento.
The panel gave second ranking to a proposal to redevelop the Downtown Plaza site by mixing an event center with a shopping district. That group is led by businessman Ali Mackani and McClellan Park developer Larry Kelley.
Third on the list is a plan by developer Gerry Kamilos to redevelop the Arco site and part of the Cal Expo site to generate funds, along with private financing, for a downtown arena. An earlier Kamilos land-swap proposal involving moving the State Fair to the Arco site fell through last fall when Cal Expo officials declined to participate.
A proposal for an arena next to Arco ranked fourth on the task force list.
http://m.sacbee.com/sacramento/db_9434/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=HJ0ljr8x&storycount=222&detailindex=4&pn=&ps=&full=true#display
###