NATOMAS-
For the first time, Sacramento City Council will hear a public presentation by the Kings Strategic Initiate Team regarding ways to reuse Sleep Train Arena in North Sacramento. This comes as construction for the new downtown arena progresses on time.
“It’s 184 acres right in the heart of Natomas,” City of Sacramento Entertainment and Sports Project Manager, Desmond Parrington said. It is very well positioned, has all the infrastructure in place, it’s really a plug and place site.
Developers and city staff began this discussion in May, 2013. Since then, they have conducted research, and have come up with a top three.
“The top one was a hospital. Number two is a high tech campus of some kind, and then number three would be a higher education facility,” council member Angelique Ashby said. “The thing that all of those have in common is jobs. High paying jobs. That’s what the community wants.”
The initiative team is expected to present their three phase process, which includes their plans to hire consultants, run environmental reviews, and decide on future tenants. They will also discuss what zoning would work best for the future tenant.
“We still have the King, Disney on Ice, Garth Brooks and things like that. We still have a year and a half of that out in North Natomas. So we are not looking for something tomorrow,” said Ashby. “What we are looking for tonight is a plan of action, and a time line that takes us across the next couple of years for what we are going to recruit to that spot.”
The public is encouraged to attend tonight’s public meeting. Discussion for this agenda item will begin at around 6:30 p.m.