Finding Suitor For Sleep Train Arena Site Will Be Long, Carefully Planned Process
SACRAMENTO (CBS13)— The president of the Sacramento Kings is expected to address the future of the team's current home in Natomas.
When the Kings move into the Golden 1 Center next season, they will be leaving Sleep Train Arena and Natomas behind.
Kings President Chris Granger says more than a few suitors have asked about the site estimate at 185 acres. Getting a new tenant or tenants for the area will take time.
Few groups are as anxious about who will fill the sizeable gap as the businesses around the arena.
Raven South's family, which runs Maestro Coffeehouse, was thrilled to hear a hospital might be built on the Sleep Train Arena site.
"We wanted that, that would have been amazing, the patients doctors," she said.
But Kaiser recently announced plans for the long-vacant railyards area of Sacramento.
Kings management is hopeful, saying it's had interest from at least 10 companies wanting to move in, but none were the right fit.
While the team declined to comment on which companies had interest, Sacramento City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby says the focus will be high-paying and possibly high-tech. She's hoping the area she represents won't see a quick move to get anyone in like an auto mall or a low-end shopping center.
"If they wanted to make money and run, they have had many offers, to build homes out there." she said.
The process will likely take awhile, as the Kings' season won't end until April, and there will need to be land use and transportation studies for any new tenant.
