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.
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."
FULL STORY: Sacramento Is Fresh Victim of Bad Stadium Deals
Florida Stadium Consultant Built a Questionable Model to Justify Stadium Deals
Mark Bonn PHD who has been used by teams looking to secure public financing for stadiums, assumed that the vast majority of people attending Blue Jays spring training games wouldn't live in the county where the games were played.
Sacramento Streetcar Funding Reaches Key Goal
Imagine taking a streetcar across Sacramento's iconic Tower Bridge for a three mile trip. Backers are en route to securing matching local funding for the project. However, local voters will have the final say in a June 2 Mello-Roos special election.
Streamlined CEQA Reform Passes Under a New Bill
Senator Steinberg's CEQA reform bill, SB 731, which we have been following all year, died - but many of the most important aspects - LOS, aesthetic and parking impacts, have been transferred to SB 743 (Kings Arena bill), though applied more narrowly.
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features
It will now be easier to find electric car charging stations and transit options.
Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
