Dead Arena Deal Kills Future Business
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - The arena dream is dead; and with it, the new downtown dollars will likely dry up.
"Especially restaurants, bars, mixed-use residential," said Michael Ault head of downtown's Business Association.
The infamous mayor and Maloof handshake shook up Sacramento. People with money, were calling Ault.
"Even that next day we probably had 20 to 30 brokers in retail that said, 'tell us what you can about the market. Tell us about the analysis," said Ault.
A rail yards arena by 2015, just the thought had put the surrounding downtown on the map.
Investors didn't have to look far. Literally, a bounce pass across the street, a sign is up reading, "Space Available," an entire third floor, 11,000 square feet.
A block away another building for lease, and across the street, there's another one, brokers waiting for a phone call.
Broker Dave Herrera started marketing one of his buildings with a message to buyers, Sacramento's new downtown scene.
"Within one, to two to three blocks, from where the arena was being proposed, seemed like there was an abundance of synergy, building," said Herrera, Colliers International.
Herrera has now erased the arena references from his marketing.
"Now word is traveling very fast in the community that the arena deal is technically dead," said Herrera.
Turns out downtown will have no arena in 2015.
"Not only were people interested in the facility coming in, but they were interested in locating or looking at opportunities within blocks of the facility, said Ault.
It was a dream, but now all the money that was headed towards the sleepy Sacramento streets will likely stay on the sidelines.
