The Arena and Basketball and the Community

In the past few months the City of Sacramento was able to secure the arena deal and the NBA’s approval to keep the Sacramento King’s in Sacramento. They waged a battle with the City of Seattle that was robbed of their team several years ago after an ownership change and at times with the electorate and other opposition in the City.  Mayor Kevin Johnson worked diligently on this venture and set in place an economic engine that will revitalize Downtown Sacramento and generate thousands of jobs.  As a 10-year resident of Sacramento, I fully realize the benefits of the arena and related development to the economic health of the City and region.  I have been fortunate to witness the boom of restaurants and bars in the Midtown/Downtown area in the last 10 years, which was sorely needed.  Also, as an advocate of infill-refill development, I hope to see the former vitality of the Downtown area return that was decimated by Urban Renewal, which displaced many residents, with no return on investment, with a disproportionate impact on low-income communities and communities of color.

As the development moves forward there are three key areas that I hope the City, new billionaire owners, Mayor Johnson and other influential parities prioritize:

• Community Benefits Agreements – The arena and related developments include community benefits agreements that includes a real and meaningful process where community needs are addressed, especially for surrounding neighborhoods and businesses, populations in the City and County that are at greatest risk and address environmental risk that may arise during the development process.  The developers and City should and must sit down with all interested parties to address these issues.  Included in these agreements:
• Local jobs to local people – Jobs during construction should prioritize local Sacramento residents and where skill gaps exists, job training should be put in place to increase opportunities for employment for low income individuals and individuals of color.  This should remain the same for jobs in the arena and surrounding economic development projects.
• Contractors/Business Opportunities – Prioritization should be given to local and minority contractors/business owners/entrepreneurs or fair partnerships that involve a diversity of groups to include all of the above.
• Affordable housing – Any development that includes housing should provide for 15-25% affordable housing, with some of that housing dedicated to workers who will work in the new or renewed developments.
• Green and Greenwise Sacramento – The Mayor through his Greenwise Sacramento initiative a few years back, touted making Sacramento the “Emerald Valley” of the United States.  There is not a greater opportunity than the arena and related development to prioritize creating an energy neutral arena and related projects.  In this time of climate disasters, rising utility cost and economic challenges, we must strive to build major projects that speak to our future and not just the current bottom line.  The Mayor has brought together an impressive group of billionaires and millionaires to Save the Kings, now it is time for Sacramento to truly emerge as the “Emerald Valley” of Sacramento and lead the way.  Many standards exist such as LEED Platinum, Built It Green, Living Building Challenge and others that point us to sustainable building, but also to sustainable environments, incorporating urban agriculture, reuse of materials, rain water capturing, green roofs and walls, recycled/reclaimed material and many other innovations in green and sustainable development.
• Future Efforts – The efforts to bring billionaire attention and investment into Sacramento from across the state, including the support of Senator Darrell Steinberg and others was an amazing rallying of the local, regional and statewide troops.  As we move forward and dream of Sacramento being an economical, socially equitable and environmental safe model for the country, if not the world, we cannot achieve these goals without ensuring that the most vulnerable in the region are benefitting from such dynamic investments. I lived in Washington, D.C. during the installation of the downtown arena that turned previously underserved areas, littered with drugs, prostitution and abandoned businesses and homes into million dollar homes and condos, while displacing the residents that suffered and struggled in those communities for years.  Sacramento has the chance now to focus that billionaire investment in our City to not only help our downtown core explode, but to also help to impact the Mayor’s native Oak Park and Del Paso Heights and West Sacramento and Meadowview and North Highlands and South Sacramento and all of the communities that could be transformed by the multi-million dollar investment that is going into the Arena Project, with a focus on lifting up current residents that love their communities and hope to stay in them for years to come.

An Arena, Downtown Development and community development for ALL Sacramentans can be achieved through a cooperative process that includes and involves all members and sectors of our community. I look forward to observing and participating in this local historic process.