Sacramento's Slam Dunk Stadium Deal Rejected

Steven Greenhut opines on the lucky break he believes residents of Sacramento received earlier this week when owners of the city's NBA franchise backed out of a partnership to build a new basketball arena in the city's downtown.

1 minute read

April 20, 2012, 9:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


The "handshake deal" agreed to in February would have required the team's owners, the Maloof family, to kick in $73 million of their own money, in addition to the $255 million the city was expected to generate by privatizing its parking.

Although civic boosters are outraged by the snub, Greenhut believes there is reason to cheer.

"Economists have long understood that new arenas and sports stadiums rarely bring new economic activity into a city, but merely move entertainment money around the region...Sacramento officials spent their time and squandered taxpayer money on such dreams, while neglecting the nitty-gritty of municipal government -- a negligence that shows throughout city neighborhoods."

Monday, April 16, 2012 in Bloomberg View

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