Sacramento Kings Break Ground On New Arena, New Season

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The Sacramento Kings broke ground on a new future and a new season on Wednesday, opening the season on the game day the team began construction of a new downtown arena.

The season's start already has fans buzzing at Sleep Train Arena, but the real excitement came earlier on Wednesday as officials broke ground on something fans and the city have worked hard for.

City dignitaries, Kings officials and others dug the first shovels of dirt to begin building the Kings new arena.

"It's like the one song that was playing in my head was James Brown 'I Feel good,' said Mayor Kevin Johnson. "I woke up this morning saying this day is finally here."

It's a day many thought would never come, and a big one for Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive.

"It's a humbling moment," he said. "Not that long ago people said I was crazy to think that we would succeed in keeping the team here and here we are. Not only have we kept the team here, but we are going to build the world's greatest arena."

Now that the dirt has been flung, the first steps can begin to erect a new state-of-the-art arena. With it comes a promise to create economic growth and improve the quality of life in Downtown Sacramento.

"We are going to create the world's smartest building," he said. "We're going to create the world's smartest downtown and we are going to put Sacramento on the world map as the city of the future."

Mayor Kevin Johnson says the historic hole in the ground should start changing visibly in months.

"You're going to see more buildings going down; you're going to start seeing cranes; you're going to start seeing things come out of the ground," he said.

The iconic arena is now on its way for the fans and city that never gave up on their team.

"This is a promise I'm making you," Ranadive said. "I promise Kings Nation that one day there will be a championship banner hanging from this arena."

The work is slated to be done by the start of the 2016 season.