How Do You Envision Your City?
Posted on 04. Jan, 2010 by SacFirst in SacramentoFirst.org
Two recent road trips highlighted for me what an entertainment and sports venue brings to a city and the surrounding areas. Over the holidays, I visited San Francisco and drove through the area surrounding AT&T Park, home to the San Francisco Giants professional baseball team. Having not visited in a while, I was amazed at the transformation that has occurred there since the Park’s opening in 2000. What used to be a blighted industrial zone has transformed into a bustling and hip area, with a mix of new and old buildings, restaurants, housing and stores seamlessly blended with access to public transportation and outdoor spaces. The area was clean and vibrant, and catalyzed by construction of the Park. It was an area the city and its residents can be proud of.
This past weekend I visited Pasadena to attend the Rose Bowl football game. The stadium is the proud home of the Tournament of Roses Football Game, UCLA Bruin Football, Fourth of July celebrations, concerts, religious services, filmings and the World’s Largest Flea Market (R.G. Canning). The stadium is impressive. But what impressed even more was its place in and among the Pasadena community. With 90,000+ seating capacity, the stadium is carefully nestled in the middle of a neighborhood closely resembling our own East Sacramento neighborhoods. I was struck by how well the stadium blended within the quaint community, and added even more character to an immaculate city plan and neighborhood layout. It was the kind of unique place visitors return home to brag about.
The two trips caused me to reflect on Sacramento’s current conditions and to envision what our city could be, in the context of the proposals for an entertainment and sports complex recently submitted to the Sacramento First Citizens Task Force.
One proposed site is located along the riverfront, south of Old Sacramento in an area known as the Docks. Currently, Sacramento’s riverfront is blocked by the I-5 freeway, and the rivers are not made a focal point. Four of the plans propose sites in the downtown area, including the Railyards and the Westfield Plaza. I work in the “heart” of downtown Sacramento on 7th and Capitol Mall near these proposed downtown sites. I think most who live or work downtown would agree that currently Sacramento’s downtown — its “heart” — is in need of a serious transplant. Other proposed sites include North Natomas and Cal-Expo. Recently, the NCAA chose an alternative city to host the NCAA Basketball Tournament citing that ARCO Arena was not a sufficient venue for the tournament. Cal-Expo has its own issues and has been actively exploring redevelopment projects that would improve the fairgrounds.
Do any of these potential sites — in their current condition — evoke a sense of community pride? If you visited these sites from out of town, would you return home to brag about them? If the answers are no, then maybe it’s time to invest in Sacramento’s infrastructure and community in a significant way.
In addition to needed development, the second part of examining what Sacramento is, and what it could be, is to look at the region’s current economic and jobs situation. A report will be released this week intended to address key threshold questions regarding the potential economic impact that the construction and operations of a sports and entertainment complex can have in Sacramento. Unlike past arena studies, the threshold study is being conducted in the context of significant economic challenges where there is an immediate need for short-term job growth and economic stimulus to help support the city’s economy. The expert’s study will provide the Task Force and public with valuable data to make an informed decision regarding the need and benefits of a complex. But it doesn’t take an expert to conclude that Sacramento desperately needs to stimulate its local economy and create jobs. A lot of Sacramentans are not interested in the NBA’s Kings, and that’s perfectly fine. But if the Kings leave town, they take with them 270 full-time and 1,400 part-time jobs generated by the team and Arco Arena, not to mention critical tax revenues. The Sacramento Regional Research Institute indicated that as of October 2009, the region has lost more than 49,000 jobs over the past year. Can Sacramento risk more?
In the coming weeks, the Task Force and the public will review the proposals in depth, including the ways the complex will be paid for. We are all eager to learn the details, and excited about the potential. But before we dive in, it might be worthwhile to take a look around the Sacramento region, and in particular the proposed sites and the current economic and job situation, and ask if the current conditions are what we envision of our city. Sacramento has many tremendous attributes, people, and places that make it special. This project can be a catalyst for development, jobs, and community pride. It can provide Sacramento a place visitors return home to brag about.
By Matt Massari
Project Coordinator for Sacramento First Citizens Task Force
Attorney, Downey Brand LLP
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